Federal court strikes down public school pledge recitation.A federal court Sept. 14 resurrected the controversy over 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. , striking down public school recitation rec·i·ta·tion n. 1. a. The act of reciting memorized materials in a public performance. b. The material so presented. 2. a. Oral delivery of prepared lessons by a pupil. b. because of the phrase "one nation under God." U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that school sponsorship of the Pledge violates students' right to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." The new challenge was brought by Sacramento atheist 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 and attorney. Newdow had previously sued on behalf of his daughter, who attends a California public school. In 2004, the Supreme Court threw out Newdow's case, ruling that he does not have the legal right to bring it since he lacks primary physical custody Primary physical custody is a term that is often used in child custody orders to denote the parent with whom a child spends or lives the great majority of time with. It is a term that is often used in cases where parents are awarded joint physical custody and one parent has of the girl. This time, Newdow brought two other unnamed California families into the case with him. Karlton, acknowledging that his ruling "will satisfy no one involved" in the ongoing debate over the Pledge, said he was bound by a previous decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declaring public school recitation of the Pledge unconstitutional. Americans United said Karlton made the right call. "The court's decision was correct as a matter of Establishment Clause jurisprudence jurisprudence (j  r'ĭspr d`əns), study of the nature and the origin and development of law. ," said Americans United Legal Director Ayesha Khan. "The Constitution forbids government to intervene in religious matters." Karlton's ruling in Newdow v. Congress of the United States Congress of the United States, the legislative branch of the federal government, instituted (1789) by Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which prescribes its membership and defines its powers. of America applies to only one court district in California. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and groups supporting the Pledge have already vowed to fight the decision on appeal. |
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