Federal Appeals Court Strikes Solomon Amendment

Military May Not Force Law Schools to Give Access to Military Recruiters

NEW YORK, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal appellate court issued a
sweeping ruling today striking the federal law that requires academic
institutions to accommodate military recruiters on pain of losing all their
federal funding.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the requirement
violates the First Amendment rights of academic institutions that exclude
military recruiters on the ground that they discriminate against gays. "The
presence of military recruiters," the Court held, would, at the very least,
force the law schools to send a message, both to students and the legal
community, that the law schools accept employment discrimination as a
legitimate form of behavior." The Court also noted that the Solomon Amendment
violates the First Amendment's prohibition against compelled speech, for it
means "they must propagate, accommodate, and subsidize the military's
message."
The court ordered that the military be enjoined from enforcing the Solomon
Amendment, which immediately frees academic institutions to enforce their own
non-discrimination policies. Every law school in the nation will now be free
to exclude military recruiters, or simply to refuse to provide affirmative
support.
"This is a victory for liberty and equality," announced E. Joshua
Rosenkranz, of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP, who served as lead counsel
on behalf of the coalition of academic institutions, professors, and students
who brought the case. "It is a victory for conscience over compulsion,
freedom of thought over thoughtless fiat." He added, "The Court understood
that if bigots have a First Amendment right to exclude gays, then enlightened
institutions have a First Amendment right to exclude bigots."

WHO: Attorney E. Joshua Rosenkranz
- Attorney Josh Rosenkranz is representing the Forum for
Academic and Institutional Rights the Society of American Law
Teachers and several law professors and students.


SOURCE Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP
Web Site: http://www.hewm.com
prnewswire.com