January 14, 2005
Source: Beliefnet
Wire Service: AP
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/159/story_15948_1.html
On January 14, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "an atheist who tried to remove 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance lost a bid Friday to bar the saying of a Christian prayer at President Bush's inauguration. U.S. District Judge John Bates said Michael Newdow had no legal basis to pursue his claim because he could not show he would suffer any injury from hearing the prayer. Bates also ruled that Newdow's claim should be denied because he already had filed and lost a similar lawsuit at a federal appeals court in California last year."