Plaintiff Michael Newdow is back petitioning the Supreme Court, after suffering yet another legal defeat, this time at the hands of the 9th Circuit, which rejected his challenge of "In God We Trust" as the national motto.
With his latest legal petition, Newdow now has multiple First Amendment arguments pending before the Supreme Court. Separately, he is also challenging the phrase "So help me God" in the presidential oath. Newdow said Wednesday that a third petition, challenging the Pledge of Allegiance, will soon arrive at the court.
Formal responses in the cases aren't due until at least mid-February, and it could take several months before the justices consider the petitions in a closed-door conference. Nonetheless, Newdow concedes the odds are stacked against him.
Whatever you think of Newdow's position or his passionate defense of the rights of atheists in this country, courts have been pretty consistent on this point. These ceremonial expressions acknowledging God do not, the court reasons, establish religion in violation of the First Amendment.
