A man who challenged the reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance in court won a $1 million judgment Thursday against a minister who allegedly libeled him in an article on the Internet.
Michael Newdow said he does not expect to receive any money from the Rev. Austin Miles.
In 2002, Newdow won a court decision on behalf of his daughter that it is unconstitutional to force public school students to recite the pledge because of the reference to "under God."
In an Internet posting shortly after the federal appeals court ruling, Miles accused Newdow of perjury, saying he lied about his daughter suffering "emotional damage" and "a sense of being left out" for not reciting the pledge at school.
Miles sought unsuccessfully to have Newdow, an attorney, removed from the California State Bar.
Newdow denied ever making the comments. "I never said that," he said. "I only said she had a right to go to school and not be indoctrinated in religion."
Miles did not appear in court to contest the lawsuit and did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment.
The appeals court decision on the pledge has been appealed to the Supreme Court by the government and the Elk Grove Unified School District. The high court has not yet ruled.