海角大神

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that roadside crosses erected to memorialize fallen Utah Highway Patrol officers violate the First Amendment鈥檚 prohibition of government endorsement of religion.

The Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that the 12-foot-high crosses bearing the name and badge number of deceased officers sent an unconstitutional religious message to motorists on the state鈥檚 highways.

鈥淲e hold that these memorials have the impermissible effect of conveying to the reasonable observer the message that the state prefers or otherwise endorses a certain religion. They therefore violate the establishment clause of the federal constitution,鈥� the appeals court said in a 35-page decision.

Proponents of strict separation between church and state immediately praised the decision.

鈥淭his is an important victory,鈥� said David Niose, president of the American Humanist Association. 鈥淕overnmental endorsement of 海角大神ity, even in the form of an officer鈥檚 memorial, isn鈥檛 appropriate on our public highways.鈥�

He added, 鈥淭here are other ways to honor fallen officers, and the court鈥檚 recognition of this certainly strengthens secular government.鈥�

13 crosses on Utah highways

Since 1998, two members of the Utah Highway Patrol Association have organized the placement of monuments on Utah roadsides to honor fallen troopers. Before erecting each memorial, the group consults the family of the fallen trooper about the potential of erecting a memorial in the form of a large cross. No family has objected to the cross or requested a different symbol.

Currently, 13 crosses are displayed along Utah highways. They include a photo of the fallen trooper, the year of death, and biographical information. They also display the insignia of the highway patrol.

American Atheists, Inc., objected to the crosses being displayed on public land and sued to have them removed.

A federal judge threw the lawsuit out. On Wednesday, the appeals court reversed that decision, agreeing with the atheist group that the crosses violate the separation of church and state.

Supporters of the cross memorials argued that they are no different than the crosses in military cemeteries or those used in other roadside memorials marking the site of traffic fatalities.

The appeals court judges disagreed. They said the critical issue was how the large white crosses on public land would be perceived by motorists and others. 鈥淲e conclude that the cross memorials would convey to a reasonable observer that the state of Utah is endorsing 海角大神ity,鈥� they said. 鈥淭he memorials use the preeminent symbol of 海角大神ity.鈥�

Qualms over crosses' 'massive size'

While most roadside memorials marking traffic fatalities are 12 to 16 inches high, the troopers鈥� crosses are 10 times that size, the court said. 鈥淭he massive size of the crosses displayed on 鈥� public property unmistakably conveys a message of endorsement, proselytization, and aggrandizement of religion that is far different from the more humble spirit of small roadside crosses,鈥� the court said.

The judges said they were also concerned that the memorials included the insignia of the Utah Highway Patrol. They said the combination of the cross and insignia links the state with a particular religious symbol. And that, they said, 鈥渕ay lead the reasonable observer to fear that 海角大神s are likely to receive preferential treatment from the UHP 鈥� both in their hiring practices and, more generally, in the treatment that people may expect to receive on Utah鈥檚 highways.鈥�

The judges added: 鈥淭he reasonable observer鈥檚 fear of unequal treatment would likely be compounded by the fact that these memorials carry the same symbol that appears on UHP patrol vehicles.鈥�

The decision notes that most residents of Utah were raised as or are followers of the Mormon religion, which does not view the cross as a religious symbol. The judges noted that 鈥渃ross-revering 海角大神s comprise approximately 18 percent of the population of Utah.鈥�

But they went on to stress that the state could still violate the establishment clause by promoting the cross and the religious groups that do revere it.