Court Rules Pledge of Allegiance and National Motto Constitutional

“It’s clear that both the national motto and Pledge embrace patriotism, not religion, and that’s exactly what the appeals court correctly determined.” - Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsel

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2010—The head of the nation's top conservative public interest law firm says that by upholding the constitutionality of the national motto "In God, We Trust" and the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, a federal appeals court is rejecting yet another effort to rewrite history.   The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) represented nearly 50 members of Congress in filing an amicus brief with the appeals court defending the national motto's use on currency.  

"This represents another important victory and sends a powerful message that the national motto and Pledge of Allegiance are not only well established and patriotic expressions, but ones that most courts have recognized as being constitutional as well," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ. 

A decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the inscription of the national motto "In God, We Trust" on coins and currency, saying that the phrase is ceremonial and patriotic, not religious.

"It always has been our position that while the First Amendment affords atheists complete freedom to disbelieve, it does not compel the federal judiciary to remove religious references in every area of public life in order to suit atheistic sensibilities," said Sekulow.  "We're delighted to see the appeals court reach that conclusion with both the national motto and the Pledge."

In the national motto decision, the court ruled that those who brought the challenge "did not and cannot cite a single Supreme Court case that called into question the motto's constitutionality."  You can read that decision here.

In a separate decision, the appeals court determined that there is no constitutional violation with the voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in a California school district where it was challenged.  The appeals court concluded that "the Pledge is one of allegiance to our Republic, not of allegiance to God or to any religion.  Furthermore, Congress' ostensible and predominant purpose when it enacted and amended the Pledge over time was patriotic, not religious."

The ACLJ is active in defending the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto.  In a recent challenge in New Hampshire, the ACLJ successfully represented 51 members of Congress and some 80,000 Americans in filing an amicus brief with a federal court that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Pledge. 

Additionally, the ACLJ is currently involved in a national case in which displays of the national motto and Pledge are being challenged in the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C.  In that case, the ACLJ in its amicus brief is urging a federal court to uphold the constitutionality of those displays.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.  The ACLJ is online at www.aclj.org. 

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