Decision of the court

In June of 2003 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in favor of Newdow but this was met with great opposing and the ruling was appealed and over turned. In the following month’s attorney from every state asked the Supreme Court to hear the case and the Supreme Court agreed. On March 24 2004 the Supreme Court heard the case.

The Supreme Court ended up dismissing the case on the grounds the Newdow did not have standing to challenge the Pledge of Allegiance.

Congress passed a bill in response to the case and along with it modified the manner in which the Pledge of Allegiance should be delivered. When not in uniform, men should remove any non-religious hat, cap or headdress. The previous requirement was for men not in uniform to remove any headdress.
In a previous case in West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette the Supreme Court had ruled that any government run school could not force students to say the Pledge of Allegiance or punish those who refused which contradicted a previous case Minersville School District vs. Gobitis which stated schools could require students to learn and recite the Pledge of Allegiance as a form of pride and nationality

Cline, Austin. "Newdow v. U.S. Congress." Agnosticism / Atheism. 19 Mar 2009 .

Newdow vs. US Congress, et al. ." Knowledgerush. 19 Mar 2009 .

"MICHAEL A. NEWDOW vs United States District Court ." UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT. June 26, 2002. 7 Mar 2009 .