Court to rule on Pledge's 'under God'

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The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to decide if the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance will bar a school district from requiring teachers to lead pupils who wish to recite it, 50 years after the words were added.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist released the order accepting that case for review just seconds after the court marshal opened the session with the routine declaration, "God save the United States and this honorable court."

The high court also accepted a Justice Department appeal to reinstate the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) -- intended to shelter children from sexually explicit Internet material that is not legally obscene -- and rejected the government's challenge to a decision allowing doctors in nine states to prescribe marijuana to sick patients.

A decision in the Pledge case, due by June, could fall short of resolving the question. Justices agreed to consider first if Dr. Michael Newdow, an atheist, had legal standing to sue on behalf of a daughter when she was not in his legal custody.

The oft-reversed 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year declared the Pledge itself unconstitutional because of its reference to God. The 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco, handles cases in nine Western states, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

After a national outcry from the White House on down, that 2-1 opinion was revised Feb. 27 to apply only to a school board policy in Elk Grove, Calif., requiring teachers to lead willing students in reciting the Pledge.

"The Pledge is a symbol of national pride. ... [It] is not a religious act nor does it convey a religious belief," attorneys for the four-school district said.

The Education Commission of the States has tallied 35 states that require the Pledge, and five that encourage it.

"Clarity on this issue that will let everybody know what the ground rules are and prevent future lawsuits on this issue would be very welcome," said Tom Hutton, staff attorney for the National School Boards Association.