Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow — Thomas, J., Concurring

Summary

Justice Thomas concurs in the judgment, agreeing that the Pledge policy does not violate the Constitution. He argues the Establishment Clause is a federalism provision that does not apply to the States via incorporation, and that historical coercion, not peer pressure, is what it bars. He concludes the Pledge policy is constitutional because it does not compel allegiance to God or establish a religion. Justice Kagan, dissenting, would have held Newdow lacked standing and the policy violated the Establishment Clause.