ACLJ Asks 9th Circuit Appeals Court To Re-Hear Pledge Of Allegiance Case
August 13, 2002

(San Francisco, CA) – The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, announced today that it has filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of itself and members of Congress asking the appeals court to re-hear a case in which a three-judge panel declared the phrase “One nation under God” unconstitutional in the Pledge of Allegiance.

“The decision that the phrase ‘One nation under God’ is unconstitutional is not only flawed in a legal sense, but ignores Supreme Court precedent protecting this kind of language,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, which filed the brief. “It is critical that a larger panel of the 9th circuit re-hear this case and correct the faulty conclusions reached by the three-judge panel. Not only is there tremendous public support for reversing this damaging decision, but there is ample legal precedent to do so as well. At the end of the day, we’re confident the Pledge of Allegiance that includes the phrase ‘One nation under God’ will be upheld as constitutional.”

The ACLJ has filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of itself and seventeen members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging that a larger panel of the appeals court re-hear the case, which was decided in June by the three-judge panel. The brief, which is posted on the ACLJ web site at www.aclj.org, contends that the phrase ‘One nation under God’ does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and simply echoes the sentiments found in the Declaration of Independence and recognizes the undeniable truth that our freedoms come from God.

The ACLJ brief also cites numerous U.S. Supreme Court cases in defense of its position.

The ACLJ brief was filed on behalf of itself and the following members of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rep. Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), Rep. Todd Akin (R- MO), Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), Rep. Michael Collins (R-GA), Rep. Jo Ann S. Davis (R-VA), Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Rep. Virgil H. Goode, Jr. (R-VA), Rep. Lindsey Graham (R- SC), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Rep. Ernest Istook, Jr. (R-OK), Rep. Donald Manzullo (R- IL), Rep. Charles Pickering, Jr. (R-MS), Rep. Bob Riley (R-AL), Rep. Jim R. Ryun (R-KS), Rep. J.C. Watts, Jr. (R-OK), Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R- FL).

In addition to filing the brief, the ACLJ is also working to ensure that the 9th circuit decision concerning the Pledge does not cause school administrators outside the jurisdiction of the 9th circuit to question the appropriateness of permitting students to recite the Pledge in their school districts. The ACLJ is sending letters to state school superintendents on behalf of nearly 160,000 people who want to make sure that students will continue to have the opportunity to voluntarily recite the Pledge with the phrase “One nation under God.”

“We want to make sure that other school districts around the nation don’t get nervous and over-react to the 9th circuit decision,” said Sekulow. “We must send a powerful message to school officials throughout the country that this one decision – which is being appealed – does not affect schools in the rest of the country.”

The American Center for Law and Justice is an international public interest law firm specializing in constitutional law. The ACLJ is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA and the web site address is www.aclj.org.