This is off-topic for a crim law blog, I know, but it's important. Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2389 which would remove jurisdiction from federal courts, not including D.C.'s local court system, to consider challenges to the Pledge of Allegiance, and it would also eliminate the U.S. Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction over such cases. Lyle Denniston has a post on SCOTUSblog here.

With 51 state & D.C. high courts, it is a near certainty that at least one, maybe more, will accept the argument that the Pledge violates the First Amendment. Others will, of course, reject that argument. With no U.S. Supreme Court jurisdiction to review these decisions, "one nation, indivisible" will be divided on the question.

The congressmen who voted for this bill thinking they were protecting the Pledge are seriously mistaken. Let us hope that cooler heads prevail in the Senate.