Legal News

Obama: ?So Help Me God,? I Want to Speak the Words

By Dan Slater

Getty Images

Mike Newdow at the Supreme Court March 24, 2004. Photo: Getty Images

When high-profile atheist Michael Newdow sought an injunction seeking to prevent Chief Justice John Roberts from inserting the words ’so help me God’ into next week’s inaugural oath, Newdow drew a line in the sand: It’s OK if President-elect Obama adds the phrase on his own, but if Roberts prompts� Obama to recite the offending phrase by offering the words himself, that would amount to a state actor endorsing religion, in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

According to an affidavit filed last week in the case of Newdow v. Roberts, Obama would indeed like to speak the controversial words next Tuesday. Here’s a report from the BLT blog.

The affidavit, written by Jeffrey Minear (Michigan Law), the counselor to the Chief Justice, says:

Before the commencement of this lawsuit, the Chief Justice instructed me to ascertain from President-Elect Obama’s representatives the President-Elect’s wishes concerning the administration of the oath of office at the inauguration, including his wishes concerning the inclusion of the phrase ‘So help me God’� after the conclusion of the constitutional oath. . . An authorized representative of the President-Elect has informed me that the President-Elect wishes to conclude the oath with the phrase ‘So help me God’ . . .

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on January 12, 2009 (boomark / email).