Anna Nicole Smith . . . the opera? Britain’s Royal Opera House is planning to document the life of the tragic model turned actress in a production simply entitled Anna Nicole; it premieres at Covent Garden Feb. 17, 2011, with Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek in the lead role. Marc-Anthony Turnage will compose the music, and Richard Thomas will script the libretto. Thomas was responsible for bringing another media figure to the stage with Jerry Springer: The Opera. Lady Justice speculates Anna Nicole’s arc will unsurprisingly culminate, like most operas, with the diva perishing under tragic conditions.

A federal appeals court upheld the use of the words “under G-d” in the Pledge of Allegiance and “In G-d We Trust” on U.S. currency, rejecting arguments that the phrases violate the separation of church and state. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected challenges by Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow, who says references to G-d are unconstitutional. The underlying lawsuit reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004, and the High Court said Newdow lacked standing since he did not have custody of his daughter, on whose behalf he claimed to bring the case. So he filed another case using children of other atheist parents to overcome the standing issue and object to the recitation of the pledge at school. In 2005, a federal judge in Sacramento decided in Newdow’s favor, prompting the appeals court to take up the case again. Judge Carlos Bea wrote for the majority in Thursday’s 2-1 ruling finding that “[t]he Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some of the ideals upon which our Republic was founded,” he said. Newbow says he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court again! Last fall I gave a constitutional law lecture Read More …