letsgetfree
4th December 2007, 18:33
SAN FRANCISCO -- A Sacramento atheist will take his arguments to remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance and U.S. currency to a federal appeals court Tuesday.
Michael Newdow, an attorney and medical doctor, first sued the Elk Grove Unified School District in 2000 for forcing public school children to recite the pledge, saying it was unconstitutional.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Newdow's favor in 2002. But two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that Newdow lacked standing to sue because he didn't have custody of his elementary school daughter on whose behalf he filed the complaint. In response, Newdow immediately filed a second suit on behalf of three unidentified parents and their children.
In 2005, a federal judge in Sacramento found in favor of Newdow, ruling the pledge was unconstitutional because its reference to one nation "under God" violates children's rights to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." The judge said he was following the precedent set by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when it ruled in Newdow's first case.
A three-judge panel of that appeals court will hear arguments in the case Tuesday. The same panel also will hear arguments in Newdow's case against the nation's motto, "In God We Trust."
In 2005, Newdow sued Congress and several federal officials, arguing making money with the motto on it violated the First Amendment clause requiring the separation of church and state.
Last year, a federal judge in Sacramento disagreed, saying the words amounted to a secular national slogan that did not violate Newdow's atheism.
Newdow appealed.
Congress first authorized a reference to God on a two-cent piece in 1864. In 1955, the year after lawmakers added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, Congress passed a law requiring all U.S. currency to carry the motto "In God We Trust."
Copyright 2007 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Michael Newdow, an attorney and medical doctor, first sued the Elk Grove Unified School District in 2000 for forcing public school children to recite the pledge, saying it was unconstitutional.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Newdow's favor in 2002. But two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that Newdow lacked standing to sue because he didn't have custody of his elementary school daughter on whose behalf he filed the complaint. In response, Newdow immediately filed a second suit on behalf of three unidentified parents and their children.
In 2005, a federal judge in Sacramento found in favor of Newdow, ruling the pledge was unconstitutional because its reference to one nation "under God" violates children's rights to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." The judge said he was following the precedent set by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when it ruled in Newdow's first case.
A three-judge panel of that appeals court will hear arguments in the case Tuesday. The same panel also will hear arguments in Newdow's case against the nation's motto, "In God We Trust."
In 2005, Newdow sued Congress and several federal officials, arguing making money with the motto on it violated the First Amendment clause requiring the separation of church and state.
Last year, a federal judge in Sacramento disagreed, saying the words amounted to a secular national slogan that did not violate Newdow's atheism.
Newdow appealed.
Congress first authorized a reference to God on a two-cent piece in 1864. In 1955, the year after lawmakers added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, Congress passed a law requiring all U.S. currency to carry the motto "In God We Trust."
Copyright 2007 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.