Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on the Solomon Amendment
December 07, 2005 at 4:10 PM
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last Tuesday in Rumsfeld v. FAIR (Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights). The basic issue: Does the federal statute popularly known as the Solomon Amendment (10 U.S.C. sec. 983) violate the First Amendment rights of law schools? The Solomon Amendment basically requires that universities give military and non-military recruiters equal access to students and campus career resources. If universities refuse to provide the military with such access, the statute permits the government to withdraw federal funds for research and other university activities. Law schools with antidiscrimination policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation argue that, under the First Amendment, Congress should not be able to require universities to suspend their antidiscrimination policies by permitting military recruiters on campus. For a selection of news articles about the case, see Howard Bashman's excellent blog, How Appealing. For an audio file of oral arguments, visit the Oyez website. You can access the parties' briefs at the ABA website. As always, SCOTUSblog has a wealth of links, analyses, and other resources.