Supreme Court says Calif. cross can stay

WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday a war memorial cross in California can stay put since the remote public land is being transferred to private ownership.

In the conservative-led 5-4 decision in Salazar vs. Buono, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the lower federal court in California did not take into full account the federal government's decision to transfer the land, Scotusblog.com reported. The move, endorsed by Congress, was designed to remove an constitutional concern about a religious symbol on public land.

The small cross has stood in the Mojave National Preserve since 1934 in honor of soldiers who died in World War I. Litigation seeking its removal has gone on for years.