Santee's Weekend Dose

County News

• A nonprofit legal firm announced today that it filed a motion with the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals to delay ordering changes to the cross atop Mount Soledad so that the case can be appealed to the nation's highest court.

The filing by the Liberty Institute came after appellate justices declined to rehear a panel's recent ruling that the cross at the 56-year-old veterans memorial was unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union believes the 29-foot-high cross is a religious symbol that should not stand on public property.

Kelly Shackelford, president of Liberty Institute and attorney for the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association, which oversees the monument, said it is "a symbol that stands in honor of the United States armed forces and the brave individuals who

"We must protect the rights of our veterans and defend the memorials established in their honor,'' Shackelford said. "The outcome of the Mount Soledad Memorial not only affects past and current members of the armed forces, but it affects future generations of Americans."

The U.S. Supreme Court last year allowed a cross that served as a war memorial to remain on public land in the Mojave Desert.

Backers of the cross in La Jolla say it's a secular memorial for the military that was originally dedicated to Korean War veterans.

However, the late-Phillip Paulson -- an atheist -- sued to have the cross removed in 1989 because the memorial excluded non-Christians. A Jewish veterans group joined with the ACLU lawsuit.

• A federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of slain pre-teen Stephanie Crowe against the cities of Escondido and Oceanside was settled today for $7.25 million, according to a published report.

Crowe's parents, sister and brother agreed to the settlement in a conference call with U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Stephanie, 12, was found dead on Jan. 21, 1998. Her brother, Michael, and two of his friends, Joshua Treadway and Aaron Houser, were charged with her murder.

Confessions made by the boys were ruled to have been coerced in harsh interrogations by detectives with the Escondido Police Department and an Oceanside officer who was assisting, and the charges were dismissed.

A transient who frequented the area, Richard Tuite, was later found guilty of murdering Stephanie. DNA from blood on his sweatshirt was a match for the girl, but in another twist in the case, his conviction was recently overturned on appeal.

The families of all three boys filed suit in 1999, claiming they were denied their rights against self-incrimination and false arrest. Key portions were thrown out by a judge in 2004 and 2005, but last year a panel of judges with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal reinstated the bulk of the case that reached today's agreement.

At the end of the day, it was a fair amount and we just decided no amount would undo what they did to us, and that's just the reality of it,'' Michael Crowe told the newspaper. "No amount of money could undo what they did and no amount will bring my sister back.''

-City News Service

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