Nos. 02-1574 and 02-1624 ================================================================ In The Supreme Court of the United States --------------------------------- ♦ --------------------------------- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Petitioner, v. MICHAEL A. NEWDOW, ET AL., Respondents. --------------------------------- ♦ --------------------------------- ELK GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, and DAVID W. GORDON, Superintendent, EGUSD, Petitioners, v. MICHAEL A. NEWDOW, Respondent. --------------------------------- ♦ --------------------------------- On Petitions For A Writ Of Certiorari To The United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit --------------------------------- ♦ --------------------------------- Brief Of The States Of Idaho, Oklahoma, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, And Wyoming As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners --------------------------------- ♦ --------------------------------- LAWRENCE G. WASDEN* W.A. D REW EDMONDSON* Attorney General of Idaho Attorney General of THORPE P. O RTON Oklahoma Ass’t Chief Deputy TOM GRUBER State of Idaho First Ass’t Attorney General 700 W. Jefferson St. State of Oklahoma Statehouse, Room 210 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Ste. 112 Boise, ID 83720-0010 Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4894 (208) 334-2400 (405) 521-3921 Counsel for Amici Curiae June 10, 2003 *Counsel of Record [Additional Counsel Listed On Inside Cover] ================================================================ COCKLE LAW BRIEF PRINTING CO. (800) 225-6964 OR CALL COLLECT (402) 342-2831 BILL PRYOR M. JANE BRADY Attorney General Attorney General State of Alabama State of Delaware Alabama State House 820 N. French St. 11 S. Union St., 3rd Floor Wilmington, DE Montgomery, AL 36130 GREGG D. RENKES CHARLES J. CRIST, JR. Attorney General Attorney General State of Alaska State of Florida P.O. Box 110300 The Capitol PL-01 Juneau, AK 99811-0300 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050 TERRY GODDARD THURBERT E. BAKER Attorney General Attorney General State of Arizona State of Georgia 1275 W. Washington 40 Capitol Square, SW Phoenix, AZ 85007-2926 Atlanta GA 30334 MIKE BEEBE MARK J. BENNETT Attorney General Attorney General State of Arkansas State of Hawaii 323 Center St., Suite 200 425 Queen St. Little Rock, AR 72201 Honolulu, HI 96813 KEN SALAZAR LISA MADIGAN Attorney General Attorney General State of Colorado State of Illinois 1525 Sherman St., 7th Floor James R. Thompson Ctr. Denver, CO 80203 100 W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60601 RICHARD BLUMENTHAL STEVE CARTER Attorney General Attorney General State of Connecticut State of Indiana 55 Elm St. Indiana Gov’t Ctr. South, P.O. Box 120 Fifth Floor Hartford, CT 06141-0120 302 W. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN 46204 THOMAS J. MILLER TOM REILLY Attorney General Attorney General State of Iowa Commonwealth of 1305 E. Walnut St. Massachusetts Des Moines, IA 50319 One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108-1698 Phill Kline MICHAEL A. COX Attorney General Attorney General State of Kansas State of Michigan 120 SW 10th Ave. P.O. Box 30212 Topeka, KS 66612 Lansing, MI 48909 A.B. “BEN” CHANDLER MIKE HATCH Attorney General Attorney General Commonwealth of Kentucky State of Minnesota State Capitol, Ste. 118 1400 NCL Tower Frankfort, KY 40601 445 Minnesota St. St. Paul, MN 55101 RICHARD P. IEYOUB MIKE MOORE Attorney General Attorney General State of Louisiana State of Mississippi One American Place P.O. Box 220 301 Main St. Jackson, MS 39205 Baton Rouge, LA 70804 G. STEVEN ROWE JEREMIAH W. “JAY” NIXON Attorney General Attorney General State of Maine State of Missouri State House Station 6 Supreme Court Bldg. Augusta, ME 04333 207 W. High St. Jefferson City, MO 65101 J. JOSEPH CURRAN, JR. MIKE MCGRATH Attorney General Attorney General State of Maryland State of Montana 200 St. Paul Place 215 N. Sanders Baltimore, MD 21202 P.O. Box 201401 Helena, MT 59620-1401 JON BRUNING ROY COOPER Attorney General Attorney General State of Nebraska State of North Carolina 2115 State Capitol Department of Justice Lincoln, NE 68509 P.O. Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602-0629 BRIAN SANDOVAL WAYNE STENEHJEM Attorney General Attorney General State of Nevada State of North Dakota 100 N. Carson St. 600 E. Boulevard Ave. Carson City, NV 89701-4717 Bismarck, ND 58505-0040 PETER W. HEED JIM PETRO Attorney General Attorney General State of New Hampshire State of Ohio 33 Capitol St. State Office Tower Concord, NH 03301 30 E. Broad St., 17th Floor Columbus, OH 43215-3428 PETER C. HARVEY HARDY MYERS Acting Attorney General Attorney General State of New Jersey State of Oregon R.J. Hughes Justice Complex 1162 Court St., N.E. 25 Market St. Salem, OR 97301 P.O. Box 080 Trenton, NJ 08625 PATRICIA A. MADRID D. MICHAEL FISHER Attorney General Attorney General State of New Mexico Commonwealth of 407 Galisteo St. Pennsylvania Bataan Memorial Bldg., 16th Floor, Strawberry Square Rm 260 Harrisburg, PA 17120 Santa Fe, NM 87501 ELIOT SPITZER PATRICK C. LYNCH Attorney General Attorney General State of New York State of Rhode Island The Capitol 150 S. Main St. Albany, NY 12224-0341 Providence, RI 02903 HENRY MCMASTER JERRY KILGORE Attorney General Attorney General State of South Carolina Commonwealth of Virginia Rembert Dennis Bldg. 900 E. Main St. 1000 Assembly St., Room 519 Richmond, VA 23219 Columbia, SC 29201 LAWRENCE E. LONG CHRISTINE O. GREGOIRE Attorney General Attorney General State of South Dakota State of Washington 500 E. Capitol Ave. P.O. Box 40100 Pierre, SD 57501-5070 1125 Washington St., SE Olympia, WA 98504-0100 PAUL G. SUMMERS DARRELL V. MCGRAW, JR. Attorney General and Attorney General Reporter State of West Virginia State of Tennessee State Capitol P.O. Box 20207 1900 Kanawha Blvd., E. Nashville, TN 37202 Charleston, WV 25305 GREG ABBOTT PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER Attorney General Attorney General State of Texas State of Wisconsin 300 W. 15th St. State Capitol, Ste. 114 E. Austin, TX 78701 P.O. Box 7857 Madison, WI 53707-7857 MARK L. SHURTLEFF PATRICK J. CRANK Attorney General Attorney General State of Utah State of Wyoming 236 State Capitol State Capitol Bldg. Salt Lake City, UT 84114 Cheyenne, WY 82002 WILLIAM H. SORRELL Attorney General State of Vermont 109 State St. Montpelier, VT 05609-1001 i QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Whether the inclusion of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. 2. Whether a noncustodial parent, who lacks the legal authority to determine his child’s education or religious upbringing, has Article III standing to challenge educa- tional practices undertaken by the school in which the custodial parent has chosen to place the child. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF AUTHORITIES........................................ iii STATEMENT OF AMICI INTEREST ........................ 1 REASONS FOR GRANTING THE WRIT .................. 2 I. The Court Should Grant Certiorari Because The Ninth Circuit’s Holding Defies The Com- mon Understanding, Embodied In 41 State Statutes, That The Pledge Is Constitutional..... 3 II. The Court Should Grant Certiorari Because The Ninth Circuit’s Decision Conflicts With Establishment Clause Jurisprudence ............... 8 CONCLUSION............................................................ 14 iii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page CASES UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573 (1989)............ 9 Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962) .......................... 8, 9, 10 West Virginia State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) ................................................................. 8 UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS Aronow v. United States, 432 F.2d 242 (9th Cir. 1970)................................................................................ 10 Sherman v. Community Consol. Sch. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 508 U.S. 950 (1993) ..................................................................... 2, 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS ACLU of Ky. v. McCreary County, Ky., 96 F. Supp.2d 679 (E.D. Ky. 2000)..........................................................11 ACLU of Ky. v. Pulaski County, Ky., 96 F. Supp.2d 691 (E.D. Ky. 2000)..........................................................11 ACLU of Ohio v. Capitol Square Review and Advi- sory Bd., 20 F. Supp.2d 1176 (S.D. Ohio 1998), rev’d on other grounds, 210 F.3d 703 (6th Cir. 2000), reh’g en banc granted and opinion vacated, 222 F.3d 268 (6th Cir. 2000), aff ’d on reh’g en banc, 243 F.3d 289 (6th Cir. 2001)................................. 12 ACLU of Tenn. v. Rutherford County, Tenn., 209 F. Supp.2d 799 (M.D. Tenn. 2002) ..................................11 iv TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued Page Allen v. Consolidated City of Jacksonville, Fla., 719 F. Supp. 1532 (M.D. Fla. 1989), aff ’d, 880 F.2d 420 (11th Cir. 1989) ........................................................ 12 Books v. City of Elkhart, Ind., 79 F. Supp.2d 979 (N.D. Ind. 1999), rev’d on other grounds, 235 F.3d 292 (7th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 1058 (2001)............ 11 Bown v. Gwinnett County Sch. Dist., 895 F. Supp. 1564 (N.D. Ga. 1995), aff ’d, 112 F.3d 1464 (11th Cir. 1997)........................................................................