Bush urges high court to overturn pledge decision. (In The Capital).The Bush administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate in·val·i·date tr.v. in·val·i·dat·ed, in·val·i·dat·ing, in·val·i·dates To make invalid; nullify. in·val a federal appeals court decision that found reciting the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance, in full, Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, oath that proclaims loyalty to the United States. and its national symbol. in public school classrooms to be unconstitutional unconstitutional adj. referring to a statute, governmental conduct, court decision or private contract (such as a covenant which purports to limit transfer of real property only to Caucasians) which violate one or more provisions of the U. S. Constitution. . Attorneys with Attorney General John Ashcroft's Department of Justice filed the 30-page brief in April. In a press release, the department said, "As the Court has ruled again and again, our government and people can acknowledge the important role religion has played in America's foundation, history and character." In late February, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the Pledge, with its nod to "under God," to be an unconstitutional religious exercise when recited in the public schools. When President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the act placing "under God" in the Pledge, he boasted that from that day forward "school children will daily proclaim pro·claim tr.v. pro·claimed, pro·claim·ing, pro·claims 1. To announce officially and publicly; declare. See Synonyms at announce. 2. in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty." Michael Newdow Michael Arthur Newdow (born June 24 1953 in New York City) is a Sacramento, California attorney and emergency medicine physician. He is best known for his efforts to bar public schools in the United States from reciting the current version of the Pledge of Allegiance because of its , a physician in California, challenged the Pledge in federal court after he learned that his daughter's public school teacher led the students in reciting it every morning. The Supreme Court takes very few cases each year, and four of the high court's justices must agree before such a review is granted. In the brief arguing for reversal in Newdow v. U.S., U.S. Solicitor General An officer of the U.S. Justice Department who represents the federal government in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. The solicitor general is charged with representing the Executive Branch of the U.S. government in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Theodore B. Olson said the 9th Circuit had "failed to come to grips with the Court's repeated recognition that the Establishment Clause permits such historic, ubiquitous, and ceremonial acknowledgments of our Nation's religious character and heritage." |
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