FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
October 4, 2017
Steve Marshall
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
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ATTORNEY GENERAL STEVE MARSHALL LEADS 14-STATE AMICUS BRIEF IN
SUPPORT OF RIGHT OF CITY OF PENSACOLA TO MAINTAIN HISTORIC CROSS IN
PUBLIC PARK
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall led a coalition of 14 state
attorneys general in filing a friend of the court brief supporting the City of Pensacola, Florida’s,
right to keep a historic cross on display in a public park.
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Attorney General Marshall filed an amicus brief Tuesday with the 11 U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals supporting the City of Pensacola’s appeal of a June 19, 2017, lower federal court ruling
ordering the city to remove a Latin cross from Bayview Park.
“The large cross in Pensacola’s Bayview Park is a local landmark dating back more than seven
decades,” said Attorney General Marshall. “The cross is woven into the fabric of Pensacola’s
history and its presence in a public park does not violate the First Amendment’s prohibition of
the establishment of religion, as opponents have claimed. To continue down the road of the
lower court’s reasoning would open the door to challenges of religious symbols on thousands of
monuments and memorials on public property across the country.”
Attorney General Marshall’s brief in the case Amanda Kondrat’yev v. City of Pensacola, Florida,
asserts that the lower federal court ruling against the display of the cross ignores legal
precedent protecting the display of historical monuments, including religious symbols, on
public property.
“States, counties, and municipalities have historically included, or allowed private parties to
include, religious texts and symbols on monuments and other displays on public property. The
amici States have an interest in maintaining that practice, consistent with a proper
understanding of the Establishment Clause,” the brief stated.
Alabama was joined by Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska,
Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah in filing the brief.
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