American Lawyer, Law School Groups Back Hastings in High Court Case:
Law school organizations are lining up behind the University of California Hastings College of the Law in the upcoming Supreme Court argument pitting the school against the Christian Legal Society.
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) have filed amicus briefs in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which is scheduled for argument on April 19. The American Bar Association also joined the fray this week with an amicus brief in support of the law school.
The case stems from a 2004 decision by Hastings to deny the Christian Legal Society funding and status as a registered student organization on the grounds that it excludes gays and lesbians. Society members must sign a statement of faith that the group's national chapter has interpreted to bar people with a "sexually immoral lifestyle." Hastings said the Christian Legal Society violates the school's non-discrimination policy
Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling in favor of Hastings, finding that the school's open membership rule on student groups is "viewpoint neutral and reasonable." …
Numerous amicus briefs have been filed in the case. In addition to the law school organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National School Boards Association and the Anti-Defamation League are among the groups that have filed amicus brief on behalf of Hastings. The Boy Scouts of America, the Cato Institute and the Association of Christian Schools International are just a few of the groups that have filed amicus brief on behalf of the Christian Legal Society.
Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
- District Court: UC-Hastings Can Refuse to Recognize Christian Legal Society Student Group (Apr. 20, 2006)
- 7th Circuit Grants Injunction to Christian Legal Society in Lawsuit Against Southern Illinois Law School (July 11, 2006)
- Supreme Court Grants Cert. in UC-Hastings Christian Legal Society Case (Dec. 7, 2009)
