Does the federal appeals court decision in Newdow v. U.S. Congress mean the Pledge of Allegiance is now banned in all public schools?
No. First, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily put off enforcing its Newdow ruling. Newdow’s case failed before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004; he has filed a new case that is being litigated in a lower court. Second, a 9th Circuit decision directly affects schools only in states within the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction: Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico. A public school in any other state is governed, to varying degrees, by the legal interpretations of its individual state’s supreme court, of the federal appeals court encompassing that state, and of the U.S. Supreme Court. Third, the Newdow ruling, even if enforced, would not prevent students from voluntarily deciding to recite the pledge, without any government involvement.
