| Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow | | Supreme Court of the United States | Argued March 24, 2004
Decided June 14, 2004
| | Full case name: | Elk Grove Unified School District et al. v. Newdow et al. | | | Citations: | 542 U.S. 1 | | | | | | Subsequent history: | 328 F. 3d 466, reversed. | | | Holding | | A noncustodial parent did not have standing in federal court to allege that his child's school violated the Establishment Clause by leading students in the recital of the phrase "one nation, under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. | | Court membership | Chief Justice: William Rehnquist
Associate Justices: John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer | | Case opinions | Majority by: Stevens
Joined by: Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Concurrence by: Rehnquist (in the judgment of the court only)
Joined by: O'Connor, Thomas (Part I only)
Concurrence by: O'Connor (in the judgment of the court only)
Concurrence by: Thomas (in the judgment of the court only)
Scalia took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
| Newdow v. United States Congress, Elk Grove Unified School District, et al. 542 U.S. 1 (2004) was a lawsuit originally filed in 2000 which led to a 2002 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance constitute an endorsement of religion, and therefore violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard it as Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow. Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ...
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William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure, who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. ...
John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is an American jurist, and the senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...
Italic textInsert non-formatted text here Sandra Day OConnor (born March 26, 1930) is an American jurist who served as the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. ...
Antonin Gregory Scalia (born March 11, 1936[1]) is an American jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...
Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) has been an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1988. ...
David Hackett Souter (born September 17, 1939) has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1990. ...
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist and has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991. ...
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg (born March 15, 1933, Brooklyn, New York) is an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. ...
Stephen Gerald Breyer (born August 15, 1938) is an American attorney, political figure, and jurist. ...
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: District of Alaska District of Arizona Central District of California Eastern District of California Northern District of California Southern District of California District of Hawaii...
The Pledge of Allegiance is a promise or oath of allegiance to the United States as represented by its national flag. ...
The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ...
The Bill of Rights in the National Archives The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights. ...
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On June 14, 2004, the Supreme Court held Michael Newdow, as a non-custodial parent, did not have standing to bring the suit on his daughter's behalf. The Ninth Circuit's decision was thus reversed as a matter of procedural law. June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The Rev. ...
In law, standing or locus standi is the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged. ...
Thus, the Court also did not consider the constitutional question raised by the case.
On January 3, 2005, a new suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on behalf of three unnamed families. On September 14, 2005, District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled in favor of Newdow. Citing the precedent of the 2002 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Karlton issued an Order stating that, upon proper motion, he will enjoin the school district defendants from continuing their practices of leading children in pledging allegiance to "one Nation under God." January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California is composed of six divisions. ...
September 14 is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
U.S. District Court Case Michael Newdow filed suit in March 2000 against the Elk Grove Unified School District and its superintendent, the United States Congress, the President of the United States, and the State of California, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, in Sacramento. Mr. Newdow, an atheist, brought the action on behalf of his daughter, who was enrolled in the Elk Grove public schools, as "next friend". He alleged the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance amounted to an unconstitutional establishment of religion and that, as such, the daily recitation of the Pledge with the offending words interfered with his right to inculcate his daughter with his religious beliefs. Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of November 7, 2006 elections) Democratic Party Republican...
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Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ...
Map of the boundaries of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. ...
Location of Sacramento in California County Sacramento Government - Mayor Heather Fargo Area - City 99. ...
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A magistrate judge found the Pledge was constitutional. The District Court accepted the magistrate's finding and dismissed the case on June 21, 2000. Mr. Newdow then appealed. is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit The Ninth Circuit court issued three opinions in the case, as outlined below.
Newdow I - June 26, 2002 A three-judge panel of the Court unanimously found Mr. Newdow had standing as a parent to challenge a practice that interferes with his right to direct the religious education of his daughter. On the merits of the case, the Court reversed the trial court decision on a 2 to 1 vote, on June 26, 2002. The majority opinion was written by Judge Alfred T. Goodwin with a partial concurrence and partial dissent written by Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez. Alfred Theodore Goodwin (born 1923 in Bellingham, Washington) is a senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. ...
In reviewing the case, the Court applied the Lemon test, the Endorsement Test, and the Coercion Test. In doing so, the Court concluded recitation of the Pledge with the words "under God" included violated the Establishment Clause. In Lemon vs. ...
The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ...
In Judge Fernandez's partial dissent, he asserts that the religious content of the 'under God' addition is so small that it is de minimis - so trivial as to be properly beneath judicial notice.
Public and Congressional reaction to the Ninth Circuit's decision was decidedly negative. About 150 Members of Congress stood on the front steps of the Capitol and recited the Pledge including the words under God; and the Senate passed a non-binding resolution affirming the presence of under God by a unanimous vote (99, with one Senator absent). The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ...
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Newdow II - December 4, 2002 After the June opinion was issued, Sandra Banning - the mother of the child in question (Newdow and Banning were not married) filed a motion to intervene or, alternatively, to dismiss Newdow's complaint. She declared that although she and Newdow shared actual custody of their daughter, a California court order granted her exclusive legal custody of the child, including the sole right to represent her legal interests and make all decision[s] about her education" and welfare. Banning further stated that her daughter is a Christian who believes in God and has no objection either to reciting or hearing others recite the Pledge of Allegiance, or to its reference to God. Banning expressed the belief that her daughter would be harmed if the litigation were permitted to proceed, because others might incorrectly perceive the child as sharing her father's atheist views. Banning accordingly concluded, as her daughter's sole legal custodian, that it was not in the child's interest to be a party to Newdow's lawsuit.
The Court's second published opinion noted that Newdow no longer claimed to represent his daughter, but the judges unanimously concluded that Banning's sole legal custody of the child did not deprive Newdow, as a noncustodial parent, of Article III standing to object to unconstitutional government action affecting his child. The court further held that under California law Newdow retained the right to expose his child to his particular religious views even if those views contradicted the mother's, and that Banning's objections as sole legal custodian did not defeat Newdow's right to seek redress for an alleged injury to his own parental interests.
Newdow III - February 28, 2003 Defendants sought en banc review. This was denied and an amended order and opinion was issued in February, 2003. The amended opinion omitted the initial opinion's discussion of Newdow's standing to challenge the 1954 Act and declined to determine whether Newdow was entitled to declaratory relief regarding the constitutionality of that Act. En banc or in bank is a term used to refer to the hearing of a case by all the judges of a court. ...
Nine judges dissented from the denial of en banc review.
On September 11, 2003 Newdow was awarded partial custody of his daughter, including joint legal custody.
Quotations and legal detail From the 9th circuit hearing: - Decided - the 1954 insertion of "under God" was made "to recognize a Supreme Being" and advance religion at a time "when the government was publicly inveighing against atheistic communism" -- a fact which (according to the court) the federal government did not dispute. The court also noted that when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the act which added the phrase "under God," he also announced "From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty."
- Judge Alfred Goodwin from the 9th circuit remarked: "A profession that we are a nation “under God” is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation “under Jesus,” a nation “under Vishnu,” a nation “under Zeus,” or a nation “under no god,” because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion."
U.S. Supreme Court On March 24, 2004 the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear the case to consider two questions: (1) whether Newdow had standing as a noncustodial parent to challenge the School District's policy on recitation of the Pledge, and (2) if so, whether the policy offends the First Amendment. is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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Justice Antonin Scalia recused himself from the case after a request by Newdow that cited Scalia's disapproval of the Ninth Circuit decision in a public speech. According to Scalia, many lower courts often misinterpret the Establishment Clause, extending its proscription of religiosity in the public sphere. Antonin Gregory Scalia (born March 11, 1936[1]) is an American jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...
The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ...
On June 14, 2004, in an opinion written by Justice John Paul Stevens, five of the remaining eight justices - Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, David Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg - found Michael Newdow lacked standing to bring the case as "next friend" to his daughter, because Sandra Banning had sole legal custody of the child at the time - including exclusive authority over the girl's education. This resulted in reversal of the Ninth Circuit's decision as a matter of procedural law. June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is an American jurist, and the senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...
Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) has been an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1988. ...
Stephen Gerald Breyer (born August 15, 1938) is an American attorney, political figure, and jurist. ...
David Hackett Souter (born September 17, 1939) has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1990. ...
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg (born March 15, 1933, Brooklyn, New York) is an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. ...
The other three justices concurred in the judgment reversing the Ninth Circuit, but dissented on the issue of standing. They found Michael Newdow did have standing to bring the suit. Thus, they proceeded to examine the constitutional question, and in doing so they found it did not offend the Constitution. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote an opinion in which the other two joined in part; and both justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote their own separate opinions. William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure, who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. ...
Italic textInsert non-formatted text here Sandra Day OConnor (born March 26, 1930) is an American jurist who served as the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. ...
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist and has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991. ...
The Chief Justice's opinion asserts the term "under God" does not endorse or establish religion. Instead, they asserted that the term merely acknowledges the nation's religious heritage, in particular the role of religion for the Founding Fathers of the United States. Thus, the Pledge is a secular act rather than an act of indoctrination in religion or expression of religious devotion. ...
Justice Thomas, by contrast, asserts that finding the Pledge unconstitutional is an unjustifiable expansion of the meaning of "coercion" as that term is used in legal precedent: to prohibit compelling students in a "fair and real sense" by "subtle and indirect public and peer pressure" (see, Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992)) to be prayerful, as well as prohibiting actual coercion by force of law and threat of penalty. Further, he argues that the Establishment Clause ought not be considered a right that attaches to individuals pursuant to the Incorporation Doctrine, because he believes the clause only prohibits interference by the federal government in the right of individual states to establish their own official religions - notwithstanding current majority opinion on the question is against states having such a right, as a result of the Incorporation Doctrine. Holding --- Court membership Case opinions Laws applied --- Lee v. ...
Incorporation of the Bill of Rights is the legal doctrine by which portions of the U.S. Bill of Rights are applied to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. ...
See also This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 542 of the United States Reports: Elk Grove Unified School Dist. ...
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