Sep 19, 2005
On September 14, 2005, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled that reciting “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, even voluntarily, in public school is unconstitutional. The Court also signaled that it is willing to enter a restraining order prohibiting that recitation.
The Becket Fund represents a group of defendant-intervenors in the lawsuit: 10 California public school students and their parents, who want to protect their right to recite the full Pledge voluntarily, as well as the 1.7 million members of the Knights of Columbus, an organization that spearheaded the effort to add the phrase "under God" to the Pledge in 1954.
On September 19, 2005, The Becket Fund filed a petition for appeal before Judge Karlton of the District Court. If granted, the next step would be to ask the Ninth Circuit itself for permission to appeal.
Click here to learn how you can join the fight to preserve the Pledge!