Rumsfeld v. FAIR: The Solomon Amendment and Free Speech (CRS Report for Congress)
Premium Purchase PDF for $24.95 (13 pages)
add to cart or
subscribe for unlimited access
Pro Premium subscribers have free access to our full library of CRS reports.
Subscribe today, or
request a demo to learn more.
| Release Date |
Nov. 15, 2005 |
| Report Number |
RL33150 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Alison Muhlfeld, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
This report deals with the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy that Congress passed in 1993 and law schools' reaction to the policy. Other key words in the report are: homosexual, gay, nondiscrimination, and recruitment. "In September 2002, the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), an association of law schools and professors, sued the Department of Defense, asserting that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to condition university funding on compliance with the Solomon Amendment. [...] A federal district court upheld the Solomon Amendment, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the district court's decision and issued a preliminary injunction relative to the enforcement of the Solomon Amendment. The Third Circuit held that FAIR would prevail on its claim of unconstitutional conditions because the Solomon Amendment violated the law schools First Amendment rights under the doctrines of expressive association and compelled speech. The Department of Defense appealed the Third Circuits decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. The government argues that the First Amendment is not implicated because the Solomon Amendment targets an institutions conduct, not its speech, and because it does not force an institution to take a position on an issue contrary to its beliefs. According to the government, if a school chooses not to allow equal access, it simply foregoes funding. In contrast, FAIR argues that the government cannot exact a price for a law schools expressive right to stand by its nondiscrimination policy. Moreover, FAIR asserts that requiring law schools to grant equal access to military recruiters forces schools to disseminate, facilitate, and host military recruiting messages in violation of the doctrine of compelled speech. The Supreme Court will hear the parties oral arguments on December 6, 2005."
