US District Judge Christina Snyder granted a permanent injunction [order, PDF] on Wednesday requiring the removal of a depiction of a Latin cross from the Los Angeles, California (LA) county seal. The seal was changed in 2004 to remove all religious symbols and the cross was then reinstated in 2014. It was suggested in 2014 to add a small cross onto the seal to accurately reflect the cultural and historical role that the mission played in the development of the Los Angeles County region. The plaintiffs claimed that the representation promotes one religion, while the government represents all of the people, not just those who believe in that specific religion. The county argued that the cross is merely a depiction meant to reflect the county’s history rather than serve as a religious statement. Snyder ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and found that including a cross on the seal demonstrated an unconstitutional preference for the Christian religion.

Religious displays on public property continue to raise controversial First Amendment questions. In November a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas [official website] ruled that a nativity scene on Baxter County Courthouse grounds violated the First Amendment [JURIST report]. In September the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled that a six-foot-tall statue of Jesus may remain on US Forest Service land [JURIST report]. In May the Ninth Circuit upheld [JURIST report] a Santa Monica, California city ordinance prohibiting unattended exhibits, including Nativity scenes, in Palisades Park.