Weekly News Round Up Of The State’s Top Law Enforcement Officer – Texas Attorney General

AG Paxton Joins Bipartisan Fight to Protect Cross at Veterans Memorial…

Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton is the lawyer for the State of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to:

• defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Texas
• represent the State in litigation
• approve public bond issues

To fulfill these responsibilities, the Office of the Attorney General serves as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issues legal opinions when requested by the Governor, heads of state agencies and other officials and agencies as provided by Texas statutes, sits as an ex-officio member of state committees and commissions, and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the State.

WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP OF THE STATE’S

TOP LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER…

THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL

AG Paxton Joins Bipartisan Fight to Protect Cross at Veterans Memorial

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today joined a bipartisan group of 28 states in fighting to protect a historic cross honoring World War I veterans as part of a case with much broader implications for the First Amendment.

The multistate coalition urges the U.S. Supreme Court to consider and ultimately protect veterans memorials that include religious symbolism. The friend-of-the-court brief seeks to overturn a lower court’s ruling that one such memorial violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The case revolves around a nearly century-old memorial in the shape of a cross in Bladensburg, Maryland. Although finished by the American Legion, the memorial was started by community members and mothers whose sons died in World War I. The American Humanist Association and others filed a lawsuit in 2014 to force the state of Maryland to tear down the 40-foot Peace Cross.

“Our military has used the cross as a symbol of military service for much of our nation’s history, including at the time of the First Amendment’s writing” Attorney General Paxton said. “Veterans memorials are reminders of the service and sacrifice of Americans who gave their lives defending our country’s freedom. Tearing down any part of a veterans memorial dishonors service members’ sacrifice and undermines the very values our Constitution was intended to protect.”

The Supreme Court’s ultimate decision could impact memorials across the nation, including those at Arlington National Cemetery. Crosses are common on headstones at that cemetery, and a 24-foot granite cross, known as the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice, stands near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Attorney General Paxton joined the West Virginia-led brief with attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia, as well as the governor of Kentucky.

View a copy of the brief here: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/epress/files/2018/Amicus_Brief-Veterans_Memorial-073018.pdf

Request For Opinion: Whether a county may provide funding to a school district for grounds maintenance, a library, and law enforcement and funding to a hospital district for purchase of a mental health facility.

RQ-0240-KP

Visit: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/51paxton/rq/2018/pdf/RQ0240KP.pdf

Received: Friday, July 27, 2018

Re: Whether a county may provide funding to a school district for grounds maintenance, a library, and law enforcement and funding to a hospital district for purchase of a mental health facility

Requestor: The Honorable Russell W. Malm
Midland County Attorney
500 North Loraine, Suite 1103
Midland, Texas 79701