House moves to take Pledge cases away from courts
on Jul 19, 2006 at 6:28 pm
A measure that faces an uncertain future in Congress — to strip the Supreme Court and all federal courts of authority to rule on challenges to the wording of the Pledge of Allegiance or its recitation, including in public school classrooms — was passed by the House Wednesday afternoon. The vote was 260-167.
The language of the bill (H.R. 2389) is simple: “No court created by Act of Congress shall have jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, the Pledge of Allegiance, as defined in section 4 of title 4, or its recitation.”
The Pledge’s language, as defined in Title 4, Section 4, is: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.â€
That, of course, includes the phrase “under God.” The Supreme Court in Elk Grove United School District v. Newdow in 2004, avoided a ruling on the constitutionality of that phrase when public school students are led in reciting the Pledge. The Court found that the challenger had no right to sue. That case has returned to lower courts, and is now pending in the Ninth Circuit Court, with new parties. The issue remains whether it is unconstitutional for public schools to lead students in the recital of the Pledge, with the phrase “under God” included in the recital.
Before passing the jurisdiction ban on Wednesday, Congress adopted on a voice vote an amendment to H.R. 2389 specifying that the law would be effective immediately and would apply “to all pending and future litigation.”
The outlook for the measure in the Senate is said to be unclear at this point. The measure was hugely popular in the House, attracting 198 sponsors out of the 435 members.
