''I don't have to say it because I'm an American,'' Lampley had told The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
Lampley’s refusal sparked blog commentary around the country, both for and against Littlejohn’s actions.
Lampley and others successfully sued the Pontotoc school district in northern Mississippi in the 1990s to stop students from praying over the intercom. He also successfully represented a Ku Klux Klan leader when a county in the Mississippi Delta tried to prevent a rally.
Bobby Martin, a 43-year-old self-employed maintenance worker was quoted as saying in an October 7th Associated Press article: ''I thought he was a disgrace to the United States. If he can't say that in front of a judge, he don't deserve to be here.'' [in this country].
However, fellow attorney Judith Schaeffer offered her support of Lampley. ''I'm speechless. The judge needs a reminder copy of the First Amendment. Danny's going to stand up for everybody's principles. Danny loves the Constitution. He's a staunch defender of constitutional rights.''
Littlejohn is in his mid-70s and has been a chancery judge for eight years, presiding mainly over divorces and child custody disputes. He was previously a state lawmaker, prosecutor and city judge. He's also a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church of New Albany and is known for running an orderly, professional courtroom.
The Supreme Court ruled nearly 70 years ago that schoolchildren couldn't be forced to say the pledge, a decision widely interpreted to mean no one could be required to recite the pledge.
