Reinhardt Stands Alone on 9th Circuit’s Pledge of Allegiance ‘Under God’ Ruling
Both appointed to the 9th Circuit in 1979 as part of a historic reshaping of the court, Stephen Reinhardt and Dorothy Nelson parted ways Thursday as Nelson handed Reinhardt a bitter defeat by siding with conservative Judge Carlos Bea in an opinion upholding the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The ruling is the latest episode in a case that has brought scorn upon the 9th Circuit from across the country and has highlighted Reinhardt as an unapologetic -- yet increasingly solitary -- iconoclast.
