Appeals Court Denies Bid To Reconsider Ruling on Peace Cross

Bladensburg, Md. — A federal appeals court has denied a request to reconsider its ruling that a 40-foot-tall (12-meter) cross on a Maryland highway median just outside Washington violates the U.S. Constitution.

A divided 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected a request from the American Legion and other supporters of the Peace Cross in Bladensburg to rehear the case before the full court.

A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit ruled in October that having the World War I monument on public land “excessively entangles the government in religion.”

One judge who dissented said finding the cross unconstitutional “needlessly puts at risk” hundreds of monuments with similar crosses around the country, including Arlington National Cemetery.

Supporters said they plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.