Pledge recital ruling [4th Circuit] News
Pledge recital ruling [4th Circuit]

Myers v. Loundoun County Public Schools, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, August 10, 2005 [ruling upholding a Virginia law requiring daily recital of the Pledge of Allegiance in Virginia public schools]. Excerpt:

The district court, applying the three part test of Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971), upheld the Recitation Statute, concluding that the statute did not have a religious purpose or effect and did not create an excessive governmental entanglement with religion. Because the Pledge is not a religious exercise and does not threaten an establishment of religion, we affirm.

Read the full text of the opinion here [PDF]. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

THIS DAY @ LAW

First gay civil union law goes into effect

On October 1, 1989, the Registered Partnernship Act went into effect in Denmark. It was the first law in the world that allowed civil unions between homosexual couples. While other nations have since fully legalized full gay marriage through the courts or legislations, Denmark is still trying to pass a fully gender-neutral marriage law.
Read a report on the world's first civil unions from the New York Times.

Chief Justice Rehnquist born

On October 1, 1924, William Rehnquist, late Chief Justice of the United States, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Listen to remarks by President Ronald Reagan at the swearing-in ceremony for Chief Justice Rehnquist (joined by new Associate Justice Antonin Scalia) in 1986 (via the History Channel).