Christian Legal Society v. Martinez
Monday was an interesting day. I am sure you all know by now about the important decision announced by the Supreme Court yesterday, that the Court in a 5-4 decision affirmed the 9th Circuit.
The opinion, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, states “Hastings, caught in the crossfire between a group’s desire to exclude and students’ demand for equal access, may reasonably draw a line in the sand permitting all organizations to express what they wish but no group to discriminate in membership.” Justice Ginsberg was joined by Justices Stevens, Kennedy, Breyer, and Sotomayor, and Stevens and Kennedy also filed concurring opinions. Justice Alito filed a pretty firey dissenting opinion in which Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas joined. It was one thick opinion!
However, this entry is more about the atmosphere that day at the Court. I love hanging out there whenever I get the chance. When I have the time, I love to watch the oral arguments, no matter what case it is. I was happy to have the opportunity (and a reserved seat) for arguments in March so that I could see Justices Stevens and Sotomayor on the bench together. I was also privileged to be sworn in to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States during the Rehnquist years – in fact, I was in sworn in on December 4, 2000 and for those of you who remember the election, you can imagine there was quite the media frenzy that day as well.
I had a meeting on Monday morning and so was unable to arrive in time to be in the courtroom when the CLS opinion was released. I was downstairs, observing visitors to the Court. Families, student groups, attorneys, interns & clerks were all in the building for different reasons. I am a people watcher to begin with, so this observation was enjoyable. (By the way, the newly remodeled gift shop is really nice!) I knew the opinion was released when the chatter in the hallways increased dramatically. I went to the clerk’s office to get a copy of the opinion and then ventured outside to check out the media field day.
I was able to mingle right into the group of reporters and watch and listen as the attorneys for the Christian Legal Society were interviewed and talking among themselves. They were decidedly disappointed and frustrated as you can imagine, but refused to be defeated, noting there were still other issues and avenues. I heard comments about how things got a little circus-like “upstairs” but since I wasn’t there I can’t comment further with any particularity.
Emotions were running high, and I heard phrases like “upheld in the abstract” and “intellectually disappointing” and of course the repeated ominous warning that this decision means that a white supremacist could become president of the Black Law Students’ Association. There is also the concern that student groups will become homogenized because the competition will be within the organizations instead of among the organizations. However, it can be noted that many colleges and universities across the country have been enforcing a similar anti-discrimination policy on their campuses for years and so far haven’t found that the diversity of the groups have suffered.
I was impressed by how well prepared most of the reporters and commentators were. Many reporters were on their phones, trying to determine how much time they’d have for their segment, and arguing with their producers for an additional ten or twenty seconds to get more of the emotional side of things in to their story. There were so many important stories on Monday (the death of Senator Byrd, the confirmation hearing for Elena Kagen, the McDonald decision) that the CLS case unfortunately got a little lost on the network news, despite how important it is to higher education.
On the flip side, it was just as interesting to realize how many people had no idea what was going on but they knew it must be important and so they were standing around to watch the craziness and take pictures!
It’s hard to find a dull moment in DC.