Federal appeals court rejects petition to rehear case involving 14 memorial crosses on Utah highways

American Atheists, Inc., sued Utah in 2005 over the use of the highway patrol's logo on memorial crosses and said the structures should be removed. The group said the memorials infer that the troopers who died at each location were Christians.  Click here for article.

A three-judge panel agreed the crosses were unconstitutional because they represent a state endorsement of Christianity.

The Utah Highway Patrol Association, the Utah Department of Public Safety, and two other state agencies sought a rehearing before the full 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  The association and state agencies explain that the memorials honor fallen officers and encourage safe driving.

The judges rejected a rehearing in a 5-4 ruling issued Monday. The court's chief judge recused herself.

Judges Paul J. Kelly and Neil M. Gorsuch said they don't believe the U.S. Constitution requires all religion or religious expression to be purged from the public sphere.  The crosses have a clear secular meaning or message: "to memorialize troopers who were killed in the line of duty."


The white crosses were first erected in 1998 and are paid for with donations to the association. All but four of the crosses are on public land.

This may go to the U.S. Supreme Court.