Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, California Gov. Gray Davis and leaders of a Northern California school district said Thursday that they planned to ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn its 2-1 ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional.
Before appeals were even filed, the 9th Circuit judge who wrote Wednesday’s opinion issued an unusual order blocking its enforcement until petitions for a rehearing are resolved. Several legal experts described the order as an acknowledgment that the court is under tremendous public pressure.
Elected officials from President Bush on down on Thursday unleashed a second round of denunciations of the ruling, which said the pledge violated the separation of church and state because it includes the words “under God.”
Bush accused the court of being “out of step” with American tradition.
A spokeswoman for the 9th Circuit said the one-paragraph stay order issued by Judge Alfred Goodwin changed nothing because rulings are customarily put on hold while appeals are pending.
Several analysts said the order indicates the appeals court will accept petitions to review its decision, and other experts predicted that a larger panel of the court will overturn the ruling before it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ashcroft and Davis plan to ask an 11-member panel of the court to review the decision in the lawsuit brought by a Northern California atheist against his daughter’s elementary school.
In Washington, Senate Democratic leaders made sure the chamber–usually empty for the opening prayer–was filled with their party colleagues. They joined Republicans in reciting the pledge.
In the House, members from both parties sang “God Bless America.” Afterward, they passed a resolution by 416-3 to protest the ruling.
