SCOTUSblog: Newdow challenges inauguration prayers
Our Conscience
Sacramento atheist Michael A Newdow, acting as his own attorney, on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to ban prayers from Thursday’s presidential inauguration ceremony, and asked Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist not to join in the Court’s action on his plea – as anticipated by a post on this blog Monday.
Condemning a practice that he recalled had occurred at every presidential oath-taking since 1937, Newdow’s emergency request for an injunction (docket 04A623) argues: “These prayers have all been given for a religious purpose, have all had religious effects, have all endorsed religious beliefs, have all placed government’s imprimatur upon religious doctrine, have all been coercive, have all been divisive, and have all violated the neutrality that every sitting Justice has agreed is a key to Establishment Clause jurisprudence.”
Full blog report here
Sacramento atheist Michael A Newdow, acting as his own attorney, on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to ban prayers from Thursday’s presidential inauguration ceremony, and asked Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist not to join in the Court’s action on his plea – as anticipated by a post on this blog Monday.
Condemning a practice that he recalled had occurred at every presidential oath-taking since 1937, Newdow’s emergency request for an injunction (docket 04A623) argues: “These prayers have all been given for a religious purpose, have all had religious effects, have all endorsed religious beliefs, have all placed government’s imprimatur upon religious doctrine, have all been coercive, have all been divisive, and have all violated the neutrality that every sitting Justice has agreed is a key to Establishment Clause jurisprudence.”
Full blog report here
posted by Seth at 3:54 PM
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