So E.J., it is my pleasure to introduce you. He is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, distinguished professor at Georgetown University, but most importantly, illustrious co-chair of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Dionne, who is a columnist for The Washington Post, as many of you know. I’ll now hand things over to my good colleague, E.J. So we hope that you’ll pick up a copy of this on your way out if you didn’t get one on the way in. Today, in addition to bringing before you two highly respected legal experts who are deeply involved in the litigation of this case and who will debate the merits of this case before you this morning, we also have produced what we trust is a helpful briefing paper, a backgrounder that discusses the history of the Pledge, the constitutional issues involved, and the possible decisions that the Court could render, broad and narrow. Since this is not the Pew Forum on Religion and Parental Rights, however, we are going to be focusing our discussion on the constitutional issues at hand, although we are all very much aware that the Court could take that “out” and punt the case. If the Court does that, of course, the constitutional issues will await another day. Newdow delighted to have you – lacks standing to bring suit because of custody issues involving his daughter, who attends school in the Elk Grove Unified District. However, the Court could choose to avoid the whole issue by ruling that Michael Newdow, who is with us here this morning – welcome to Washington, Mr. They further assure me that a broad decision in the case, whether yea or nay, could have significant implications for the role of what is called ceremonial deism in the American public square. I’ve been assured by all the legal scholars that the constitutionally significant question in this case is whether or not the recitation in public schools of the Pledge of Allegiance, with the phrase “under God” in it, violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Newdow, the Pledge of Allegiance case that will be heard by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. It is my pleasure to welcome you this morning to the timely discussion of the important issues involved in Elk Grove Unified School District v. The Forum is a non-partisan organization, and we do not take positionS on policy debates, pending legislation or court cases. I am the director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. LUIS LUGO: Good morning and thank you all for coming. Dionne, Jr., Co-Chair, Pew Forum Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel, American Center for Law and Justice Counsel of Record for United States Senators and Congressmen and the Committee to Protect the Pledge, urging the Court to reverse the 9th Circuit’s rulingĮ.J. Doug Laycock, Counsel of Record for 32 Christian and Jewish clergy, urging the Court to affirm the 9th Circuit’s ruling
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