http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/14/politics/14CND-SCOT.html?hp
June 14, 2004
Supreme Court Case on Pledge Is Dismissed on Technicality
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court at least temporarily preserved the phrase
"one nation, under God," in the Pledge of Allegiance, ruling Monday that
a California atheist could not challenge the patriotic oath while
sidestepping the broader question of separation of church and state.
The decision leaves untouched the practice in which millions of
schoolchildren around the country begin the day by reciting the pledge.
The court said the atheist could not sue to ban the pledge from his
daughter's school and others because he did not have legal authority to
speak for her.
The father, Michael Newdow, is in a protracted custody fight with the
girl's mother. He does not have sufficient custody of the child to
qualify as her legal representative, eight members of the court said.
Justice Antonin Scalia did not participate in the case.
"When hard questions of domestic relations are sure to affect the
outcome, the prudent course is for the federal court to stay its hand
rather than reach out to resolve a weighty question of federal
constitutional law," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the court.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist agreed with the outcome of the case,
but still wrote separately to say that the Pledge as recited by
schoolchildren does not violate the Constitution. Justices Sandra Day
O'Connor and Clarence Thomas agreed with him.
The high court's lengthy opinion overturns a ruling two years ago that
the teacher-led pledge was unconstitutional in public schools. That
appeals court decision set off a national uproar and would have stripped
the reference to God from the version of the pledge said by about 9.6
million schoolchildren in California and other western states.
The case involved Newdow's grade school daughter, who like most
elementary school children, hears the Pledge of Allegiance recited daily.
The First Amendment guarantees that government will not "establish"
religion, wording that has come to mean a general ban on overt government
sponsorship of religion in public schools and elsewhere.
The Supreme Court has already said that schoolchildren cannot be required
to recite the oath that begins, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America."
The court has also repeatedly barred school-sponsored prayer from
classrooms, playing fields and school ceremonies.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the language of the First
Amendment and the Supreme Court's precedents make clear that tax-
supported schools cannot lend their imprimatur to a declaration of fealty
of "one nation under God."
The Bush administration, the girl's school and Newdow all asked the
Supreme Court to get involved in the case.
The administration had asked the high court to rule against Newdow,
either on the legal question of his ability to sue or on the
constitutional issue. The administration argued that the reference to God
in the pledge is more about ceremony and history than about religion.
The reference is an "official acknowledgment of our nation's religious
heritage," similar to the "In God We Trust" stamped on coins and bills,
Solicitor General Theodore Olson argued to the court.
It is far-fetched to say such references pose a real danger of imposing
state-sponsored religion, Olson said.
Newdow claims a judge recently gave him joint custody of the girl, whose
name is not part of the legal papers filed with the Supreme Court.
The child's mother, Sandra Banning, told the court she has no objection
to the pledge. The full extent of the problems with the case was not
apparent until she filed papers at the high court, Stevens wrote Monday.
Newdow holds medical and legal degrees, and says he is an ordained
minister. He argued his own case at the court in March.
The case began when Newdow sued Congress, President Bush and others to
eliminate the words "under God." He asked for no damages.
The phrase "under God" was not part of the original pledge adopted by
Congress as a patriotic tribute in 1942, at the height of World War II.
Congress inserted the phrase more than a decade later, in 1954, when the
world had moved from hot war to cold.
Supporters of the new wording said it would set the United States apart
from godless communism.
The case is Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, 02-1624.
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Scientology tries to disrupt terrorist attacks relief efforts: http://www.cosvm.org/
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I'm going to propose to my Senators that they cut off welfare funds that go to
suscribing Internet services. That should eliminate 1/2 of the Democratic Party
extremists from posting their anti American garbage. -- Jaberwokie (Republican)
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The LA Times is part of the liberal Democrat cabal that supports any enemy of the
United States in order to smear the President and discredit the Republican Party.
-- jose soplar
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