High court's cross case could affect monuments nationally

WASHINGTON (AP) — A 40-foot-tall, concrete cross on public land in a Maryland suburb of Washington is at the center of a case before the Supreme Court. But similar monuments elsewhere in the country could be affected by the high court ruling, states have told the justices.

The District of Columbia-based American Humanist Association, which is behind the challenge to the Maryland cross, acknowledges at least a handful of other monuments around the country could be affected if the court sides with them, though they disagree with those supporting the cross that the number is vast.

The monuments most likely to be affected are large crosses on public, not private, lands and where there's a prominent cross that isn't part of a larger memorial or setting such as a cemetery, said Monica Miller, an American Humanist Association attorney.

By the same token, those monuments could be insulated from challenges if the other side prevails, as many observers think is likely given the court's conservative makeup.