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July 11, 2006

Even to the Resident Druid

...this makes great good sense.

Court: Illinois U. Must Reinstate Group
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that an Illinois university must reinstate a student group that had its status revoked over its requirement that members pledge to adhere to Christian beliefs.

The ruling reverses a lower court decision that denied the group a preliminary injunction re-establishing its status while the lawsuit proceeds.

The Christian Legal Society sued Southern Illinois University in 2005 after the school revoked the group's registered status, meaning it no longer could use the university's facilities or name and was ineligible for school funding. The group claimed the university's decision violated its First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion.


Not a Christian? Don't join. How hard is that? A little quick Googling revealed there's a "Muslim Student Association" and that said "Muslim Students Association (MSA) is a registered student organization at the University of Illinois..."

If it's okay enough for them, what's the problem with Christian legal beagles?

Posted by tree hugging sister at July 11, 2006 10:59 AM

Comments

It's the eeeeeevuhl C-worders! Free association of like-minded individuals? NEVER!

No-one expects.... the Christian Legal Society!

Posted by: Nightfly at July 11, 2006 11:29 AM

Terrifying in more dimensions than I can count.

I found quite a few Pagan Student Assoc.'s scattered thru the UofI system, too, Diptera. (Of course, everybody loves a tree hugger, but that's neither here nor there.)

Posted by: tree hugging sister at July 11, 2006 11:41 AM

everybody loves a tree hugger

Where's Wunder "Chainsaw" Kraut when you need him?

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at July 11, 2006 12:33 PM

Busy murdering things.

As usual.

Posted by: tree hugging sister at July 11, 2006 12:34 PM

THS - not a legal “beagle” – such a cute pooch wouldn’t go with my looks, but I’ll cop to “law dog,” is that close enough? Having said that I am not a constitutional law expert, but am somewhat familiar with the area and have been on the opposing side of this university madness for a little while (Mr. B’s bride not included). So here is my take:

SIU’s position is not unusual. Many universities have implemented policies in the name of “tolerance” and "inclusion" that are in reality “speech codes” that violate the students’ 1st Amendment Rights. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has a great blog called the Torch with lots of information and specific cases (http://www.thefire.org/index.php/torch). May want to drink heavily before reading it though.

SIU’s position in this case not only violates the right to free speech, but would also seem to violate the right to association and freedom of religion – all of which are protected under the 1st Amendment. I am amazed that SIU took this to court. There have been several recent cases very similar, all of which the schools have lost or settled. The case law is pretty clear- state universities (but not private ones) are bound by the constitution and have to provide 1st Amendment rights to the students. Additionally, a state university cannot treat a religious club differently from any other club. Go figure.

Downside - a lot of universities are finding themselves on the losing side of expensive litigation because a lot of well-educated people are taking silly positions that violate the 1st. Amendment.

The Upside? Full employment for those of us in the legal field.

Posted by: Mike at July 11, 2006 04:42 PM

OutSTANDING explanation, Mike!

Posted by: tree hugging sister at July 11, 2006 06:00 PM