Elk Grove Unified School District v. Michael A. Newdow The United States Supreme Court on Monday, June 14, 2004 declined to strike the phrase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. The case arose when Michael A. Newdow, an atheist whose daughter attends a California public school, challenged the school district's daily practice of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance on the ground that the practice violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. A federal district court dismissed Mr. Newdow's challenge, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in his favor. The Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Newdow did not have "standing" to bring the lawsuit given the nature of his legal relationship to his daughter. Mr. Newdow and the girl's mother never married, and the California courts have conferred greater rights upon the mother in an ongoing custody battle. The decision nullifies the Ninth Circuit's ruling that the practice of leading willing schoolchildren in the Pledge of Allegiance - including the phrase "under God" - violates the Establishment Clause. The Center for Law and Religious Freedom filed "friend of the court" briefs in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and in the U.S. Supreme Court. It was joined in its Supreme Court brief by the Center for Public Justice, Concerned Women for America, and the Christian Educators Association International. In its briefs, the CLS Center argued that the phrase "under God" does not violate the Establishment Clause by endorsing religion. Rather, the phrase acknowledges that all individuals are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights," and it affirms the basis for the United States' concept of limited government. Three of the eight participating justices concluded that Mr. Newdow had standing and that the Court should therefore reach the merits. All three of them -- Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and Justice Clarence Thomas - all concluded that the inclusion of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge did not violate the Establishment Clause. Documents & Links: CLS 9th Circuit Brief (PDF - 59 KB) CLS Supreme Court Brief (PDF - 150 KB) A Word of Praise from CLS' Executive Director, Sam Casey Press Release March 23, 2004 Press Release June 14, 2004 Supreme Court Opinion