Families of WTC dead go to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, July 6 (UPI) -- Families who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001, have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to order New York City to remove World Trade Center debris from a landfill.

WTC Families for a Proper Burial says its members' religious rights have been violated by disrespectful treatment of human remains, The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reports. They have already been turned down by a federal judge and an appeals court.

The city says an unprecedented effort was made to find anything identifiable as part of a human body and to recover the personal belongings of victims at the World Trade Center site. Officials say debris that might have contained undeniable human tissue was put in a new section of the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island and covered with fresh earth.

The families charge debris that might contain remains is now mingled with trash.

The Supreme Court has not yet said whether it will hear the case.