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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Elk Grove Unified School Dist. v. Newdow
Citation:
542 U.S. 1 (2004)Facts
Michael Newdow, an atheist and ordained minister in a religious philosophy that “espouses the religious philosophy that the true and eternal bonds of righteousness and virtue stem from reason rather than mythology,” filed suit against the Elk Grove Unified School District. He challenged the district’s policy requiring daily teacher-led recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, which includes the phrase “under God” (added by Congress in 1954). Newdow claimed this practice constituted religious indoctrination of his daughter in violation of the Establishment Clause. Although students could opt out of reciting the Pledge, Newdow argued that the practice still violated the Constitution. After the Ninth Circuit ruled in Newdow’s favor, the child’s mother, Sandra Banning, intervened, revealing that she had sole legal custody of their daughter and that the child was a Christian who had no objection to the Pledge. A California Superior Court subsequently confirmed that while the parents had joint legal custody, Banning had the final decision-making authority regarding the child’s education if the parents disagreed.
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