''Newdow v. Rio Linda Union School District'' (also known as ''Newdow v. Carey''), Nos. 05–17257, 05–17344, and 06–15093, was a

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

decision that upheld the constitutionality of the teacher-led recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by students in public schools. The 2–1 majority found that the recitation did not constitute an establishment of religion prohibited by the United States Constitution. It was an appeal from the

Eastern District of California The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (in case citations, E.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the ...

, which ruled that the recitation of the

Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...

in public school is unconstitutional based on the Ninth Circuit's ruling that the words "under God" violate the Establishment Clause of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

in '' Newdow v. United States Congress'' in 2002. That case was later appealed to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

and overturned on an issue of standing in ''

Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow ''Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow'', 542 U.S. 1 (2004), was a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.. The lawsuit, originally filed as ''Newdow v. United States Congress, Elk Grove Unified School District, et al.'' in 2000, led to a 2 ...

'' in 2004. In the new case, the plaintiffs were three unnamed families. The defendants were

Rio Linda Union School District Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, the United States as a Defendant-Intervenor and a group of defendant-intervenors, including lead intervenor John Carey, who sought to preserve the current wording of the Pledge. The private defendant-intervenors were represented by the

Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Becket Law (formerly the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty) is a non-profit public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C., that describes its mission as "defending the freedom of religion of people of all faiths." Becket promotes accommodat ...

. The Court of Appeals consolidated the defendants' three different appeals for briefing and argument. Court of Appeals' Initial Time Schedule Order
/ref> The Court heard oral argument in the case on December 4, 2007, where the petitioner Michael Newdow argued for plaintiffs. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gregory Katsas argued for the United States, Terence Cassidy argued for the Rio Linda Union School District, and

Kevin Hasson Kevin J. "Seamus" Hasson is Founder and President Emeritus of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit, public interest law firm that represents persons of all faiths. The Becket Fund is well known for successfully representing the Litt ...

of the Becket Fund argued for the private intervenor-defendants. A decision was handed down on March 11, 2010.

References

External links

Text of ''Newdow v. Rio Linda USD''
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Audio of oral argument
"Media for Case: ''Newdow v. John Carey'', No. 05-17257". Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Establishment Clause case law United States education case law United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit cases 2008 in United States case law Pledge of Allegiance 2010 in religion 2010 in education Education in Sacramento County, California {{US-case-law-stub