Dr. Michael Newdow, the California atheist who sued to get "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, says he refiled a suit regarding the pledge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California January 3

Christian Century, Jan 25, 2005

Dr. Michael Newdow, the California atheist who sued to get "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, says he refiled a suit regarding the pledge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California January 3. A court staffer said legal documents had been received but had not been officially recorded pending additional paperwork from Newdow.

In the new case, Newdow has been joined in, the suit by three families who include atheists and claim they are offended "to have their government and its agents advocating for a religious view they each specifically decry." The U.S. Supreme Court determined last June that Newdow did not have standing to bring the legal challenge. Defendants in the new case include the Congress, California, the United States and some school districts. Two weeks before refiling the pledge suit, Newdow filed suit in a Washington district court to try to halt designated clergy from uttering prayers at President George Bush's January 20 inauguration.