Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights
| Rumsfeld v. Forum For Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc. | |
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| Argued December 6, 2005 Decided March 6, 2006 |
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| Full case name | Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, et al. v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc., et al. |
| Docket nos. | 04-1152 |
| Citations | 547 U.S. 47 (more)
126 S. Ct. 1297; 164 L. Ed. 2d 156; 2006 U.S. LEXIS 2025; 74 U.S.L.W. 4159; 2006 WL 521237
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| Prior history | Defendant's motion to dismiss denied, 291 F. Supp. 2d 269 (D.N.J. 2003), rev'd, 390 F.3d 219 (3d Cir. 2004), cert. granted, 125 S. Ct. 1977 (2005) |
| Holding | |
| Because Congress could require law schools to provide equal access to military recruiters without violating the schools’ freedoms of speech and association, the Third Circuit erred in holding that the Solomon Amendment likely violates the First Amendment. Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Roberts, joined by Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I; 10 U.S.C. § 983(b)(1) (Solomon Amendment) | |
Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc., 547 U.S. 47 (2006), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the federal government, under the Solomon Amendment, could constitutionally withhold funding from universities if they refuse to give military recruiters access to school resources. Law schools were unwilling to allow recruiters onto campus because they considered the military's so-called "Don't ask, don't tell" policy discriminatory. The Supreme Court held oral arguments on December 6, 2005, and issued an 8-0 decision March 6, 2006, finding the Solomon Amendment constitutional.
In 1993, Congress passed the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, codified at 10 U.S.C. § 654, which required that the military discharge a member who (with certain exceptions):
Many law schools had policies denying campus access to recruiters from employers who did not comply with their anti-discrimination policies. Objecting to the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy as discriminatory, the schools refused to permit military recruiters on-campus. Congress responded by passing the Solomon Amendment, which required colleges and universities receiving federal money to allow military recruiters onto their campuses in the same manner as recruiters for other employers.
In Fall 2003, Forum for the Academic & Institution Rights, Inc. (FAIR), an association of law schools and law faculty asked the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to enjoin enforcement of the Solomon Amendment on the grounds it violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association. The District Court ruled against FAIR. FAIR then appealed to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which found in November 2004 that FAIR had "demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of its First Amendment claims and that it is entitled to preliminary injunctive relief."
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