William C. Odle, Monday, June 28, 2010 | Filed under: First Amendment
Today, the Supreme Court handed down its last decisions of this term, including the opinion in
Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, in which it held that a public law school, the Hastings College of Law, can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group (the "CLS") that prohibited gay and lesbian students from joining. In this case, "recognition" meant certain benefits, such as use of school funds, facilities, and channels of communication, as well as the right to use the school's name and logo. The CLS required members to sign a statement of faith and regards ''unrepentant participation in or advocacy of a sexually immoral lifestyle'' as being inconsistent with that faith. The law school maintained that no recognized campus groups may exclude people due to religious belief or sexual orientation under the school's anti-discrimination policies.
In a 5-4 decision, a sharply divided Court denied CLS's claim that the law school's refusal to grant it official recognition was a violation of the group's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech, expressive association and free exercise of religion. ''In requiring CLS -- in common with all other student organizations -- to choose between welcoming all students and forgoing the benefits of official recognition, we hold, Hastings did not transgress constitutional limitations,'' said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the five member majority. She further noted that the ''CLS, it bears emphasis, seeks not parity with other organizations, but a preferential exemption from Hastings' policy.''