It’s the Pentagon vs. United States law schools!
On one side, military recruiters on campus. On the other side, US law schools that oppose the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military.
The US law schools were off and running when an appeals court in Philadelphia, PA, ruled in favor of the law schools that refused to allow military recruiters on campus due to the controversial policy, adopted during the Clinton era. The ruling threw out a 1995 federal law requiring universities to allow military recruiters on campus or face a penalty (reduced federal funding).
However, the ruling was flagged by the Bush administration since the military (the Army, in particular) has not met its recruitment goals.
In what could be considered one of his first public cases as Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Roberts challenged the law schools’ position on free speech stating that “[e]verybody knows recruiters are not the school.” Justice Ruth Ginsburg countered that the schools’ concern was to ensure equal treatment for all its students.
The score? It’s too early to tell. Stay tuned.
{ 0 comments… add one now }