United States Tenth Circuit

In a civil rights suit brought by a former trustee of defendant-town, a self-described atheist, arising after he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at town board meetings and several town citizens organized a successful campaign to recall him from office, summary judgment for defendants and the government is affirmed where the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to consider plaintiff's claims since, for purposes of standing: 1) plaintiff's loss of elected office, although an injury in fact, was not fairly traceable to defendants; 2) a claimed injury based on social pressure to recite the Pledge does not constitute an injury in fact under Article III; and 3) any controversy arising from an injury based on exposure to the Pledge was now moot given that plaintiff was no longer required to attend board meetings.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/14/2008
• Published 03/17/2008

Judges

• LUCERO, Circuit Judge., Before LUCERO, HOLLOWAY, and TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert R. Tiernan, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Steven J. Dawes (Sophia H. Tsai, with him on the brief), Light Harrington & Dawes, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees., Lowell V. Sturgill, Jr., Attorney (Troy A. Eid, United States Attorney, Peter D. Keisler, Assistant United States Attorney, and Robert M. Loeb, Attorney, with him on the brief), United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendant-Intervenor-Appellee.