A HOUSE RESOLUTION appealing to the congress of the united states to LIMIT the APPELLATE jurisdiction of the federal courts regarding the recitation of the pledge of allegiance in public schools.
Whereas, North Carolina is one of numerous states that recites the Pledge of Allegiance in its public schools; and
Whereas, the practice of including "under God" in the Pledge was established by federal law decades ago and reaffirmed by a new federal law just last year; and
Whereas, recent polls indicate that the public (up to ninety percent  is overwhelmingly in favor of allowing students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance; and
Whereas, Constitution signer, George Washington, declared:  "the fundamental principle of our Constitution…enjoins [requires] that the will of the majority shall prevail," and Thomas Jefferson similarly pronounced:  "the will of the majority [is] the natural law of every society [and] is the only sure guardian of the rights of man"; and
Whereas, Thomas Jefferson also stated:  "A judiciary independent…of the will of the nation is a solecism [wrong] – at least in a republican government"; and
Whereas, the 9th Circuit has violated these fundamental principles and abrogated the "consent of the governed" as set forth in our governing documents; and
Whereas, the will of the people can be protected against further judicial usurpation from any other federal court on this issue through congressional action to limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts as explicitly set forth in the Constitution in Article III, Section 2, Para. 2 (federal courts "shall have appellate jurisdiction both as to law and fact with such exceptions and under such regulations as Congress shall make"); and
Whereas, the intent of our Framers regarding this power of Congress to limit judical overreach was clear, such as when Samuel Chase (a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a U.S. Supreme Court Justice appointed by President George Washington) declared, "The notion has frequently been entertained that the federal court derive their judicial power immediately from the Constitution; but the political truth is that the disposal of the judicial power (except in a few specified instances) belongs to Congress. If Congress has given the power to this court, we possess it, not otherwise"; and
Whereas, Justice Joseph Story, in his authoritative Commentaries on the Constitution, similarly declared, "In all cases where the judicial power of the United States is to be exercised, it is for Congress alone to furnish the rules of proceeding, to direct the process, to declare the nature and effect of the process, and the mode, in which the judgments, consequent thereon, shall be executed….And if Congress may confer power, they may repeal it.…The power of Congress [is] complete to make exceptions"; and
Whereas, this position is confirmed not only by signers of the Constitution such as George Washington and James Madison but also by other leading constitutional experts and jurists of the day, including Chief Justice John Rutledge, Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice John Marshall, Richard Henry Lee, Robert Yates, George Mason, and John Randolph; and
Whereas, the United States Supreme Court has long recognized and affirmed this power of Congress to limit the appellate jurisdiction of the federal courts, as in 1847 when the court declared that the "court possesses no appellate power in any case unless conferred upon it by act of Congress" and in 1865 when it declared "it is for Congress to determine how far...appellate jurisdiction shall be given; and when conferred, it can be exercised only to the extent and in the manner prescribed by law"; and
Whereas, Congress has on numerous occasions exercised this power to limit the jurisdiction of federal courts, and the Supreme Court has consistently upheld this power of Congress in rulings over the last two centuries, including cases in 1847, 1866, 1868, 1876, 1878, 1882, 1893, 1898, 1901, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1922, 1926, 1948, 1952, 1966, 1973, 1977; etc. and
Whereas, it is Congress alone that can remedy this current crisis and return to the states the power to make their own decisions on recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools; Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
SECTION 1.  The House of Representatives appeals to the Congress of these United States to limit the appellate jurisdiction of the federal courts regarding the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.
SECTION 2.  The Principal Clerk shall transmit a certified copy of this Resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the Chief Clerical Officers of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon adoption.