JUDGE NARROWS PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CASE TO FOCUS ON SCHOOLS
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- A federal judge said Monday he is inclined to dismiss part of a lawsuit brought by a Sacramento atheist who claims the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. More details
NEWDOW'S MILLION-DOLLAR JUDGMENT AGAINST PASTOR SET ASIDE
It's a major victory for a California pastor who was sued by Michael Newdow,
the man who tried to have the words "under God" removed from the Pledge of
Allegiance to the U.S. flag. More details
NEWS BRIEFS
...Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum says the American Civil Liberties Union
is getting rich at the expense of religious expression. She contends that
the ACLU is stuffing its coffers with money gained by challenging the
constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance and Ten Commandments displays
in various public buildings around the United States, and she wants
something done about it. "Congress should repeal the law that allows the
ACLU to collect attorneys fees when they have these Pledge of Allegiance and
Ten Commandments cases," she says. Schlafly believes U.S. lawmakers should
amend the law so that the organization could not benefit monetarily from
challenges to the acknowledgement of God under the establishment clause.
According to the pro-family spokeswoman, the ACLU litigants are making
millions of dollars from these court challenges -- especially when they
manage to get an activist judge to hear the case. But Schlafly says the law
was never intended as a financial tool to generate windfalls for the ACLU or
anyone else. Online version
February 11, 2005
...The phrase "One Nation Under God" -- long included in the Pledge of
Allegiance -- may soon appear on Ohio specialty license plates. Lawmakers
in the Ohio House and Senate want to add the "One Nation Under God" tags to
the 70+ specialty plates Ohio motorists can purchase. Among them are plates
honoring veterans, colleges, sports teams, wildlife, and cattlemen.
Republican state Representative Tom Patton sees the plates as a way to
defend the Pledge of Allegiance, which he says is under attack.
February 3, 2005
...Governor Sonny Perdue is trying again to pass a constitutional amendment
that would let Georgia contract with faith-based social service groups.
Perdue said at a Capitol rally that churchgoers provide crucial support to
the needy, but the state's ability to work with them could hang by a thread
if the amendment is not adopted. The proposed amendment would eliminate
language in the Georgia Constitution which bars the use of any state money"in aid of any church, sect, cult or religious denomination or of any
sectarian institution." The state has managed to get around that by
contracting with affiliated but legally separate church-sponsored groups
that provide a range of services. But Perdue says, "In the litigation
climate in which we live today, where people sue to take God out of the
Pledge of Allegiance, where they sue to ban prayers at the presidential
inauguration, it's just a matter of time before this provision becomes the
basis of a lawsuit."
NEWS BRIEFS
...Two Supreme Court justices rejected an atheist's request to ban prayer at
President Bush's inauguration. Chief Justice William Rehnquist was the first
to deny Michael Newdow's claim that prayer would violate the Constitution by
forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs. Newdow then filed an
appeal with Justice John Paul Stevens, who also turned down a request to
have the court step in. Both orders were issued without comment. Two lower
courts had previously rejected Newdow's claim, suggesting that he could not
show actual injury. Two years ago, Newdow tried to remove "under God" from
the Pledge of Allegiance. Online version
January 19, 2005
...The atheist who tried to remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance
is now asking the Supreme Court to bar the saying of a prayer at President
Bush's inauguration. In an emergency filing, Michael Newdow argued that a
prayer at Thursday's ceremony would violate the Constitution by forcing him
to accept unwanted religious beliefs. His request has been rejected by two
lower courts. Newdow also asked that Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who
would normally hear the emergency appeal, recuse himself because he is
scheduled to swear in Bush and thus has a conflict of interest. If Rehnquist
does remove himself, the case will go to the next senior justice, John Paul
Stevens, who has the option to refer the appeal to the full court for
consideration.
VIRGINIA LAWMAKER'S 'PLEDGE' BILL NOT POPULAR WITH A.C.L.U.
A Virginia school district has decided to allow students to sit during the
Pledge of Allegiance. But a lawmaker in that state hopes his proposed
legislation would prevent students under the age of 18 from doing that
without their parents' knowledge. It's a question of parental rights, says
the legislator -- but the ACLU and others don't agree.
More details: http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/182005a.asp
NEWS BRIEFS
...Christian Coalition of America is commending the federal judge who
rejected Michael Newdow's lawsuit attempting to prevent prayer at the 2005
Presidential Inauguration. The atheist activist's suit alleged that he would
be forced to accept unwanted religious beliefs if a minister at the
inauguration ceremonies invoked God. But U.S. District Judge John Bates
ruled that the "balance of harms," particularly the public interest in the
case, did not weigh strongly in favor of granting the legal relief sought by
Newdow, which would have required "the unprecedented step of an injunction
against the president." The Christian Coalition's vice president of
legislative affairs, Jim Backlin, was pleased with Bates' decision and
commented, "Thank God there are still federal judges -- including the
Supreme Court justices who threw out Mr. Newdow's Pledge of Allegiance
lawsuit last year -- who reject the goals of a tiny vocal minority trying to
impose their anti-God prejudices on more than 80 percent of Americans who
hold traditional values and want God to remain in the public square."
President Bush's first inauguration included religious invocations, a
tradition with precedents that go back as far as the presidency itself. As
CCA noted in a recent press release, George Washington referred to God
during his 1789 inauguration, and President Franklin Roosevelt began the
practice of including Christian prayer during his second inauguration in
1937. Online version
NEWS BRIEFS
...A federal judge says he will rule today on an atheist's lawsuit to
prevent prayers from being recited at President Bush's inauguration.
Michael Newdow, who is best known for challenging the words "under God" in
the Pledge of Allegiance, told federal judge John Bates that allowing an
overtly Christian prayer at next week's ceremony would violate the
Constitution by forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs. Attorneys
representing Bush and his inaugural committee responded that prayers have
been widely accepted at inaugurals for more than 200 years and that Bush's
decision to have a minister recite the invocation is a personal choice the
court has no power to prevent. Much of the hearing centered on whether the
lawsuit should be thrown out because Newdow lost a similar challenge to
prayers recited at Bush's first inauguration. Online version
NEWS BRIEFS
...The government is asking a federal court to throw out a lawsuit filed by
atheist Michael Newdow, who's trying to bar the saying of a prayer at next
week's inauguration. Newdow, who is best known for challenging the words
"under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, says using prayer in the Bush
inaugural is unconstitutional. But the government says it has been
happening since George Washington's inauguration in 1789 and is widely
accepted. Attorney Jay Sekulow says his American Center for Law and Justice
has filed a brief supporting prayer at President Bush's inauguration. He
notes that federal courts dismissed Newdow's earlier lawsuit over Rev.
Franklin Graham praying "in Jesus' name" at the 2001 inaugural ceremony. He
also says Newdow should not expect the Supreme Court to echo its previous
ban on school prayer in a high school setting. A hearing on the challenge
to the Inaugural Prayer will take place on Thursday afternoon (January 13). Online version
January 7, 2005
...Atheist Michael Newdow is back in the news. He gained national attention
when he initially won a lawsuit in California over his objection to his
daughter hearing the words "under God" when her classroom said the Pledge of
Allegiance. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision because Newdow
does not have legal custody of his daughter. Now, he has relaunched the
legal challenge, this time using some parents who do have custody of their
children. Newdow also filed suit this week to stop the traditional prayer
said at President Bush's inauguration. [AP]
Amicus Brief Filed in Pledge of Allegiance Case
Washington, D.C. ( Feb. 4, 2004) –The Pacific Justice Institute filed an amicus brief before the United States Supreme Court in the case of Michael Newdow v. Elk Grove School District. The Ninth Circuit's decision that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional in public schools because of the phrase “one nation under God” is scheduled to be heard before the United States Supreme Court next month. (more)
'Under God' Under The Microscope:
March 23, 2004 - The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on the Pledge of
Allegiance on Wednesday. (more)
