Federal appeals court says historic cross, Nativity can remain in Los Angeles public square

A cross and Nativity will remain in a Los Angeles public plaza after a U.S. appeals court ruled against an atheist who brought a lawsuit to have the displays removed.

The two monuments are located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historical center of the Southern California city, marking its founding in 1781.

Los Angeles resident Jack Gerritsen sued the city government claiming that the displays violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Gerritsen identifies himself as a “nonbeliever” in the suit and claims the monuments make him feel “excluded” in the public space.

A U.S. district court ruled against Gerritsen, after which he appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. On Sept. 29, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that the appeals court had also ruled against Gerritsen.

The plaintiff “failed to establish the requirements” to justify removing the monument, the appeals court said, including failing to establish that he would “suffer irreparable harm” if the monuments were left in place.

He further failed to affirm that removing the monuments would be “in the public interest,” the court noted.

The ruling comes after a group of merchants located on Olvera Street near the monuments asked to join the lawsuit in defense of the public displays.

Among them was cafe owner Edward Flores, who said that a cultural display such as the cross and Nativity helps “[ennoble] Americans across all ethnicities, faiths, cultures, and generations to take pride in their own contributions and to see more clearly their future potential.”

The appeals court ultimately ruled against the efforts of the merchants to join the suit, arguing that their participation in the legal proceeding was moot given the court’s dismissal of Gerritsen’s request.

But Andrea Butler, a lawyer at Becket who represented the merchants in their request, said in a news release that the ruling was “common sense.”

“Los Angeles belongs to people of every faith and none, and its public square naturally bears the marks of that diversity,” Butler said.

The case will be sent back to lower district court following the appeals ruling, according to Becket. The law firm said the monuments will remain “while courts move toward a final decision in the case.”