I would bet it is because that is the national motto and it is
patriotism
Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
and Public Policy
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, New York 12208-3494
518-445-3386
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Well, to the same extent that the motto on currency is
establishment, or the phrase Let this be our motto, In God Is Our
Trust in our national anthem is establishment -- which is to say, given
the courts' caselaw on this, not establishment.
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL
Were Indiana to put this same motto on all standard license plates, and
not offer its citizens any choice in the matter, I think the analogy to
the currency would be perfectly apt.
But this seems different. In Indiana, there's a standard plate and
various optional plates. If you choose an
I see Steve's point, but I'm not sure I agree. Other things equal, I
would think that the existence of choice (even if skewed to a degree)
would make the establishment clause claim weaker, not stronger.
Likewise, the existence of choice suggests that there is an element of
personal speech here,
Perhaps this should be seen as a response to Wooley v. Maynard. The
state could not require motorists to display In God We Trust. Instead
of instituting an opt out scheme, it instituted an opt in scheme.
Mark S. Scarberry
Pepperdine University School of Law
-Original Message-
From:
I agree with Dan that it's not clear this is establishment, though for
analytical purposes, I'm wondering what the best analogy might be.
Given the aspect of choice, it seems a bit like school vouchers, though
with religious schools getting an extra measure of subsidy.
In response to Mark's
In Wooley, the slogan was Live Free or Die. Of course the same
reasoning would apply to In God We Trust or any other slogan.
Quoting Scarberry, Mark [EMAIL PROTECTED]:
Perhaps this should be seen as a response to Wooley v. Maynard. The
state could not require motorists to display In God
