Michael Newdow has no Legal Standing in Pledge Case
Today, the Supreme Court decided that Michael Newdow could not sue to remove the pledge from his daughter’s school since he does not have the legal authority to speak for her. Newdow’s daughter only lives with him 10 days a month and his mother, Sandra Banning, has exclusive legal custody under a state court order. The girl’s mother, a born-again Christian, has stated that she has no problem with the pledge.
Interestingly, even though this ruling leaves the door open for future cases against the pledge, Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices O’Connor and Thomas all believe that the pledge, as it now stands, is not unconstitutional.
Another interesting fact is that this ruling came on the 50th anniversary of the addition of the words “under God” to the pledge. The U.S. Congress adopted the June 14, 1954, law in an effort to distinguish America’s religious values and heritage from those of communism, which is atheistic.
