Judge Rules Cross Has No Place on L.A. County Seal

A federal judge has ruled that Los Angeles County violated the Constitution by voting to put a cross back on its seal. 

The original 1957 seal included a cross, but it was removed in a 2004 redesign after the ACLU of southern California threatened legal action.

The redesign added a depiction of the historic San Gabriel Mission, which didn't have the cross on its building at the time because it was removed during earthquake retrofitting. 

In 2014, Supervisors Michael Antonovich and Don Knabe argued for adding the cross, saying it would be an more accurate portray of the mission. 

The motion passed, but the ACLU and other clergy of different faiths sued. 
    
Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled that adding the cross "places the county's power, prestige, and purse behind a single religion, Christianity,"  and that is a violation of the Constitution. 
    
The county seal is used on buildings, vehicles and publications. 

"I am disappointed by the Court's ruling, which seems to me to be more about political expediency than the core of what this issue is – ensuring the historical accuracy of the Los Angeles County seal," said Knabe. 

He and Antonovich noted that the city of San Luis Obispo and the counties of Ventura and San Benito also depict missions with crosses on their seals.

Antonovich said he would support appealing the ruling because it "ignores historical and architectural reality." 

"As any California fourth-grade student knows, the San Gabriel Mission is an important icon to the region and the birthplace of Los Angeles County," Antonovich said in a statement.