 Michael Newdow |
California attorney Michael Newdow, who pushed a case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in an unsuccessful effort to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, has lost a defamation complaint against a pastor who criticized him.
According to the Thomas More Law Center, a court ruling has dismissed Newdow’s defamation complaint against Rev. Austin Miles. Newdow also had targeted WND with his legal action but agreed to release the news site from his case.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision,” said Law Center attorney Brandon Bolling, who tried the case before Judge Barbara Zuniga. “It was very clear from the start that Newdow’s claims against Reverend Miles had no merit.”
The judge concluded in a ruling released Nov. 20 that Newdow was not defamed and was not entitled to damages. The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning the claim cannot be refiled, the legal advocacy group said.
The law center said the claim was based on an article Miles wrote asserting Newdow had lied to the court in the Pledge of Allegiance case by claiming his daughter was forced to recite the words “under God” at her school.
Miles’ commentary noted Newdow’s daughter actually is a Christian who willingly said the Pledge.
Newdow initially was awarded, in June 2004, a default judgment against Miles for $1 million, but the law center said Miles hadn’t been notified of the complaint. He contacted the Thomas More Law Center after learning about the award, and lawyers persuaded the court to set aside the judgment and allow the case to proceed to trial
Mark A. Thiel of Stockton, Calif., assisted the law center as local counsel.
The case previously involved WND, the Internet’s leading independent news site.
But shortly after naming WND as a defendant, Newdow agreed to drop the organization from the complaint.
The case, which originated about six years ago, alleged WND published a quote from Newdow that his daughter “was forced to recite, caused her emotional damage, stress, anxiety and a sense of being left out.”
The lawsuit alleged the quote was never said by Newdow.
But WND did not publish the quotation, and Newdow quickly agreed to dismiss WND as a defendant.
Newdow attained national prominence by suing his then-8-year-old daughter’s Sacramento school district, claiming that having public-school students recite the Pledge is a violation of the First Amendment’s prohibition of “an establishment of religion.”
In March 2002, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in his favor, prompting widespread national outrage. The U.S. Supreme Court later rejected his claim on a technicality, explaining that he didn’t have standing to bring the action.
According to published reports, Newdow’s daughter and her mother at the time attended an evangelical Christian church and had no opposition to the Pledge of Allegiance.
Newdow, in a contemporaneous interview with Fox News, said his case “is more about me than her,” referring to his daughter.
He later launched a renewed attack on the “under God” words in the Pledge. He’s also challenged in a separate action the national motto “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency.
Brad Dacus, who directs the work of the Pacific Justice Institute, told WND his chief counsel, Kevin Snider, pointed out that the motto actually does not “endorse” religion and to remove it actually would be an act of hostility toward religion.
“We pointed out to the court that the phrase ‘In God We Trust’ in no way amounts to an endorsement of any particular religion or sect,” he told WND. “Courts have made clear distinctions between a generic acknowledgement of God and an endorsement of a particular religion.”
Dacus also said legal precedent has been to allow references to God “in a context that is commemorative or reflective of our nation’s history or heritage.”
He also pointed out that should the motto be banned from currency, there still would be problems in the U.S., because the Declaration of Independence as well as the U.S. Constitution contain references to God or a creator.
The phrase “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 by Congress. Two years later, Congress made “In God We Trust” the country’s official motto.
As WND reported, the Texas Legislature has voted to add the words “under God” to the state pledge.
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