SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California ruled against an atheist June 12 who argued that minting the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency violated constitutional prohibitions against the government promoting religious ideas.
Following precedent established by a 1970 court decision, U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. ruled that the words “In God We Trust” are a national motto that “have nothing whatsoever to do with the establishment of religion.”
Michael Newdow, a Sacramento doctor and lawyer who argued that the phrase violates his right to be treated equally, vowed to appeal the ruling.
Two years ago, Newdow, an avowed atheist, battled all the way to the Supreme Court to have the phrase “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. The high court ruled that he did not have the standing to bring the case.
With new plaintiffs, Newdow brought an identical lawsuit back to the courts, where it now sits before the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
He plans to appeal the coin decision, as well, to the same appeals court. Newdow has spent somewhere between $7,000 and $8,000 on his court cases.
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