| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
27 Jul 2005 11:03:20 AM |
| Object: |
Pledger Litigation Update |
Recently Posted at
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
What's the Big Deal? The Unconstitutionality of God in the
Pledge of Allegiance John E. Thompson∗
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/crcl/v.38_2/thompson.pdf
[Excerpt]
Many Americans can recall reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as
schoolchildren. This patriotic ritual is part of the common experience
of those raised in the United States—perhaps not a signiªcant personal
experience for most people, but nonetheless one that is shared and
remembered by all those who participated. Until last year, most
Americans had probably never considered that the routine recitation of
the Pledge in the public schools might violate the Constitution's
prohibition on government establishments of religion, or, to use the
common phrase, might breach the "separation of church and state."
Much of the country was shocked when a federal appeals court ruled
in June 2002 that the inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge
of Allegiance was unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit held that the federal statute codifying the Pledge, as
well as a California school district's policy providing for recitation
of the Pledge, violated the Establishment Clause of the First
Amendment.1 In February 2003, the Ninth Circuit amended its decision,
ªnding the school district policy unconstitutional on narrower
grounds, while declining to address the validity of the federal
statute.2 At the same time, the full Ninth Circuit denied a motion to
rehear the case en banc.3
This Article suggests that the Ninth Circuit's decision reºects a
valid interpretation of both the Constitution's meaning and of the
Supreme Court's Establishment Clause doctrine. It also argues that the
theory most likely to be invoked to overrule the decision—a theory
that can be described as "historical acknowledgement"—should be rejected.
Part I will describe the Ninth Circuit panel's rationale, in both its
June 2002 opinion and its February 2003 amended opinion, for declaring
------------------------------------
∗ B.A., Columbia University, 1992; M.I.A., Columbia University, 1993;
J.D., Harvard Law School, 2003. I would like to thank Professor
Richard Fallon for his invaluable guidance, and the editors of the
Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review for their patience and
support.
1 Newdow v. U.S. Cong. (Newdow I), 292 F.3d 597 (9th Cir. 2002),
amended by Newdow v. U.S. Cong. (Newdow II), No. 00-16423, 2003 WL
554742 (9th Cir. Feb. 28, 2003) (order stayed).
2 Newdow v. U.S. Cong. (Newdow II), No. 00-16423, 2003 WL 554742 (9th
Cir. Feb. 28, 2003).
3 Id.
[end excerpt]
*************************************
Click on Current litigation
you will find all the briefs filed in this case thus far.
From Mike Newdow
We had a hearing on the Pledge case in Federal District Court on the
18th.
Now we wait.
************************************************************************
The Pledge sute was also filed in the 1st Circuit as well
Thus the suit is active in the 1st and 9th Circuits
******************************
The Pledge Protection Act: The Lunacy of Letting Only State Courts
Interpret the First Amendment
Thursday, Sep. 23, 2004
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20040923.html
The Pennsylvania Mandatory School Pledge of Allegiance Law: Why A
Federal Appeals Court Was Right to Strike It Down
Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20040826.html
The Supreme Court Decision on the Pledge of Allegiance Case:
Why It Raises Federalism Issues
By MARCI HAMILTON
hamilton02@aol.com
Thursday, Jun. 17, 2004
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20040617.html
The Court Hears Oral Argument in the "Under God" Pledge of Allegiance
Case: Why the Court Should Reject This Pledge, and Why the Department
of Justice Is Wrong To Support It
Thursday, Mar. 25, 2004
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20040325.html
The Ongoing Fight for Religious Dominance: From The Secret Service
Agent's Slur, To Critiques Of The Ninth Circuit's Pledge Of Allegiance
Decision
Thursday, Aug. 01, 2002
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20020801.html
**************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and the discussion group for the above site listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members]
For people in Hampton Roads you are also invited to join
NORFOLK/VA. B. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE MEETUP GROUP
http://churchandstate.meetup.com/47/
Virginia Chapter Americans United for Separation of Church and State
http://au-va.org/
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
"Dedicated to combatting 'history by sound bite'."
Now including a re-publication of Tom Peters
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE HOME PAGE
and
Audio links to Supreme Court oral arguments and
Speech by civil rights/constitutional lawyer and others.
This site is a member of the following web rings:
Freethought Ring--&--Freethought, Religion & Beliefs Ring
The First Amendment Ring--&--The Church-State Ring
American History WebRing--&--The History Ring
Let Freedom Ring--&--Religious Freedom Ring
Law Issues Ring--&--Legal Research Ring
****************************************************************
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