A federal appeals court has rejected the Bush administration's request to reconsider a recent decision that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it contains the phrase "under God."
[from the NYT story:] The ruling means the case could go to the Supreme Court. In Washington, a Justice Department spokesman said no decision has been made about whether to appeal the ruling there. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it would not accept any other petitions to reconsider last June's ruling by a three-judge panel that the pledge is unconstitutional when recited in public classrooms. Ruling on a lawsuit brought by Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow, the court panel decided 2-1 that Newdow's daughter should not be subjected to the words "under God" at her public school. The court said the phrase was an endorsement of God, and the Constitution forbids public schools or other governmental entities from endorsing religion.
[from the Reuters item:] "We may not — we must not — allow public sentiment or outcry to guide our decisions," Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in concurring with the opinion. "It is particularly important that we understand the nature of our obligations and the strength of our constitutional principles in times of national crisis… It is then that our freedoms and our liberties are in the greatest peril."
Link to NYT story, link to Reuters story, Discuss
