On September 23, 2004, the US House of Representatives voted 247-173 to pass the Pledge Protection Act, seeking to strip federal courts of jurisdiction to hear cases challenging the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance. The legislation stated that: "No court created by Act of Congress shall have any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, the Pledge of Allegiance, as defined in section 4 of title 4, or its recitation." The Senate never voted on the legislation, and successive attempts to pass the legislation have failed.

Learn more about legal challenges to the Pledge of Allegiance from the JURIST news archive.