Reply #41: Here's another reason RW crazies might want to throw Sanford off a balcony

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http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2004/March/24/local/stories/02local.htm
March 24, 2004


Aptos lawyer takes part in high court pledge case
By CATHY REDFERN
Sentinel STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Aptos attorney Paul S. Sanford will be in the hallowed halls of the U.S. Supreme Court today as he helps an Elk Grove man argue to the country’s highest justices why the words "under God" should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.Michael Newdow, father of a 9-year-old fourth-grader, sued the Elk Grove school district near Sacramento over the use of the words he claims violate the separation of church and state. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed the phrase did not belong in a government-sanctioned pledge.

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Sanford also filed an amicus brief in support of Newdow’s case for American Atheists Inc. More than 40 briefs have been filed. "He’s somewhat of a lone crusader," Sanford said. "He doesn’t have a staff. I’m really impressed with his guts." Newdow, an atheist, doesn’t want his daughter exposed to the phrase "under God" when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school. The former emergency room physician who earned a law degree in 2002 will give a 30- minute argument in front of the justices today. After the arguments, Sanford and Newdow will meet reporters on the steps of the court.

Sanford was raised Catholic in Boston. He earned a master’s degree in political science at Boston College before working as a political consultant for several years. In 1996, he earned his law degree from Monterey College of Law, focusing on Constitutional Law. He also taught constitutional law at Monterey College of Law and Cal State University Monterey Bay. Sanford practices mostly criminal defense, he said, and is drawn to cases of people whose civil liberties have been compromised. "My religious feelings are not particularly relevant," he said. "I’m not an atheist, but I am very sympathetic to their plight. They are profoundly discriminated against in our culture and it’s a great honor to have the opportunity to represent a group that is routinely demeaned and belittled.

"Cases in which people’s rights are threatened by the government are almost always unpopular — atheists, the homeless, people charged with crimes. It’s their rights that need protection."

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Contact Cathy Redfern at [email protected].