{"id":112,"date":"2009-01-15T10:50:03","date_gmt":"2009-01-15T10:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/01\/no-constitutional-crisis-with.html"},"modified":"2009-01-15T10:50:03","modified_gmt":"2009-01-15T10:50:03","slug":"no-constitutional-crisis-with","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/01\/no-constitutional-crisis-with.html","title":{"rendered":"No Constitutional Crisis With Inaugural Prayers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, once again, another legal challenge that you probably support – a federal lawsuit filed by Michael Newdow attempting to stop the mention of God at the inauguration of President-elect Obama and the inclusion of prayers at the inaugural ceremony itself.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

Newdow has a troubling history of trying to purge all religious references and observances from American public life.   <\/span>And, like his other attempts, this lawsuit is not only legally flawed by misplaced.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

In our amicus brief <\/a><\/font>filed with the federal court in Washington, DC – we argue that the Newdow suit should be dismissed.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

“This personal crusade serves no purpose other than to waste judicial resources at a time in our Nation’s history when those resources are needed in cases involving real threats to American liberties,” the brief asserts.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

There’s a long standing tradition in this country that when the oath of office is administered to the President-elect by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, it concludes with the phrase “So help me God.”  <\/span>The inclusion of prayers at the inaugural ceremony is also part of that history, too.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The fact is that references to God at inaugurations date back to the very origins of this country.  <\/span>And Steve Waldman has done a nice job detailing some of that history with this post<\/a>. <\/span><\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

Our brief outlines specifics too:  <\/span>“In his first inaugural address, President Washington proclaimed that ‘no people can be bound to knowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States,’ because ‘every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.’  <\/span>Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States, S. Doc. No. 10, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 2 (1989).  <\/span>Thus, the Inauguration of the man who was ‘first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,’ was blessed with an invocation of Divine Aid by the very Chief Executive.  <\/span>Every subsequent Inaugural has likewise afforded the Chief Executive the opportunity to expressly invoke Divine Aid, or to acknowledge the working of the Divine Hands in the enterprise that is this great Nation.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

There’s no constitutional crisis with President-elect Obama concluding the oath of office by proclaiming “So help me God.”  <\/span>And, there’s no constitutional crisis with the inclusion of prayers offered during the inaugural ceremony.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

It’s interesting to note that Newdow has twice lost claims challenging inaugural prayer in the past.  <\/span>That’s what should happen this time around, too.  <\/span>The court should reject this legal challenge without delay.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, once again, another legal challenge that you probably support – a federal lawsuit filed by Michael Newdow attempting to stop the mention of God at the inauguration of President-elect Obama and the inclusion of prayers at the inaugural ceremony itself.   Newdow has a troubling history of trying to purge all religious references and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courts","category-religious-freedom"],"yoast_head":"\nNo Constitutional Crisis With Inaugural Prayers - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}