The Pledge of Allegiance

Pledge of Allegiance Controversy
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Pledge of Allegiance Controversy
Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow is among the notable Supreme Court cases regarding the controversy of reciting the United States Pledge of Alliance. The plaintiff in the case was Michael Newdow, a father to a daughter enrolled in the Elk Grove Unified School District. Newdow sued Elk Grove in California federal court for making students listen to the phrase “under God” even if they were given the choice of not participating in the recitation (Prouser, 2005). Newdow argued that the phrase “under God” violated the cardinal clause of the First Amendment. Newdow’s complaint was dismissed on the grounds of lack of standing since he was divorced and did not have custody rights for his daughter (Prouser, 2005). The case ended at the Supreme Court where the same ruling of Newdow not having a stand was withheld and the constitutional challenge was not addressed.
Jane Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District is another high-profile case challenging legality of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. The plaintiffs in the case were atheists and Humanists who argued that the phrase “under God” in the pledge violated Massachusetts constitutional and statutory law. The plaintiff’s motion was seeking injunctive relief with a declaration that daily in-school recitation of the pledge with the words “under God” violated the student’s State statutory and constitutional rights (Blankholm, 2018). The motion sought a court order barring the defendant (school district) from continuing daily recitation of the pledge in its current form or any form that affirms either the presence of inexistence of a deity. This motion was denied with the court maintaining that reciting the pledge voluntarily in its current form did not violate either the Constitution or the statute law (Bomboy, 2020).
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