SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has unanimously overturned a decision that allowed the display of roadside crosses in honor of Utah Highway Patrol troopers who have fallen in the line of duty.
The 10th Circuit Court also ordered Judge David Sam to order the crosses removed.
Sam ruled in favor of the UHP crosses in November of 2007, saying the crosses did not represent a religious symbol, but a proper memorial and a symbol of death.
The lawsuit was originally brought five years by local and national atheists.
Wednesday, their attorney, Brian Barnard, told ABC 4 that the crosses,
"...violate the First Amendment. They're an improper mixing of Church and State. They're an endorsement of religion by the state and they are unconstitutional."
The justices ruled that the cross, while considered a symbol of death, also conveys an even deeper religious message.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff was both surprised and disappointed with this new ruling,
"They're memorials and people understand that a cross on the side of the road means death. It's not - oh, someone is celebrating Christianity."
The crosses were constructed and erected with the use of donated funds, but stand on public land.
The court ruled on Wednesday that a "reasonable person" would see the crosses as a religious symbol, and ruled in favor of the atheists.
The case is now all but guaranteed to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
General Shurtleff also tells ABC 4 he would personally like to handle it before the nation's highest court.
Because the case is likely to be appealed, the UHP crosses will probably stay in place for the foreseeable future.
