One Nation, Under God?

March 22, 2004

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, the case concerning the Constitutionality of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse has a preview:One Crucial Issue in Pledge Case: What Does 'Under God' Mean?

It has taken 50 years since Congress added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance for the validity of that cold war amendment to reach the Supreme Court, with arguments scheduled for Wednesday. But before the justices can decide whether those two words render the pledge unconstitutional, they have to answer a factual question that is inextricably entwined with the legal one: what exactly does it mean to pledge allegiance to "one nation under God"?

Ninth Circuit decision in Newdow v. US Congress

Findlaw has made the briefs available.

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