E
Element 117
(06-28) 13:30 PDT SAN FRANCISCO --
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld a refusal by UC Hastings law school to grant official recognition and funding to a Christian club that excludes gays and nonbelievers, saying a public university is not required to subsidize groups it considers discriminatory.
The San Francisco school's policy, which requires student organizations to be open to everyone to qualify for official status, "ensures that no Hastings student is forced to fund a group that would reject her as a member," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in the 5-4 ruling.
Ginsburg, writing the majority opinion, stressed that the school is not requiring the Christian Legal Society to change its beliefs or its membership policies to remain on campus, but only to comply with non-discrimination rules set forth in California law if it wants school funding.
But dissenting justices said Hastings is punishing the Christian organization because of its views.
The ruling means "no freedom for expression that offends prevailing standards of political correctness in our country's institutions of higher learning," said Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts.
Gregory Baylor, a lawyer for the Christian Legal Society, said the ruling would require the organization "to allow atheists to lead its Bible studies" to be eligible for university recognition.
Hastings' acting dean, Leo Martinez, said the ruling "validates our policy, which is rooted in equity and fairness." The school was backed by educational and civil rights groups, while religious and conservative organizations filed arguments in support of the Christian Legal Society.
While the court upheld Hastings' policy, it did not rule on the Christian group's claim that the school enforced its rules selectively, and instead returned that issue to an appeals court in San Francisco.
The Christian organization, based in Virginia, says it has chapters in 165 law schools, consisting of evangelical Christians who meet for Bible study and discussions about applying their faith to the practice of law.
Hastings recognized the campus chapter, making it eligible for office space, inclusion in school publications and bulletin boards, and travel funded by student fees until 2004, when the chapter changed its rules, apparently in response to a new policy by its national parent.
The revision required members to endorse a "statement of faith" and barred anyone who engaged in "unrepentant homosexual conduct." After Hastings withdrew recognition, the 30-member campus chapter sued, claiming violation of free speech.
Today's ruling, on the last day of the court's 2009-10 term, upheld decisions by a federal judge and the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a similar case, a federal appeals court in Chicago had ruled in favor of the Christian club.
The Christian Legal Society's appeal cited a 1995 Supreme Court ruling that found the University of Virginia had violated free speech by denying funding to a student-run Christian newspaper.
In today's ruling, however, the court said Hastings did not discriminate against the organization because of its viewpoint, but instead required those seeking school funds to admit all comers.
A school "may reasonably draw a line in the sand permitting all organizations to express what they wish but no group to discriminate in membership," said Ginsburg in the majority opinion.
Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor endorsed Ginsburg's opinion. Kennedy, typically the deciding vote in close cases, wrote a separate opinion saying inclusiveness and diversity are especially valuable in a law school, where students of varying backgrounds and beliefs learn through open discussion.
"The era of loyalty oaths is behind us," Kennedy said.
The case is Christian Legal Society vs. Martinez, 08-1371.
