Posted on 08/22/2005 3:03:21 PM PDT by dukeman
7th Circuit orders SIU to reinstate CLS chapter's registered status
CHICAGO - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit today ordered the Southern Illinois University School of Law to reinstate the registered status of the Christian Legal Society student organization while the appeal the chapter filed moves forward. Attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund and the Christian Legal Society represent the CLS chapter.
"The 7th Circuit recognized that First Amendment rights apply to everyone," said CLS Chief Litigation Counsel Steven H. Aden. "We wanted the students in the CLS chapter to have their constitutional rights respected as this litigation continues, and the court granted that request today."
In its order, the court ordered SIU to reinstate the student group's status as a registered student organization, granting them the full benefits associated with that status. The court also stayed the proceedings in district court while the appeal the CLS chapter filed in the 7th Circuit is pending. In addition, the court agreed to the CLS chapter's request to expedite the appeal on an emergency basis. The full text of the court's order can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/CLSvWalkerOrder.pdf.
In July, a federal district court judge denied the chapter's request for a preliminary injunction, and the group appealed the decision to the 7th Circuit.
ADF and CLS filed Christian Legal Society Chapter at Southern Illinois University School of Law v. Walker in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in April after the school revoked the chapter's registered status and all of the benefits associated with it. SIU claims the CLS chapter's requirement that its voting members and leaders adhere to basic Christian beliefs violates the university's affirmative action policy.
"We are now hopeful that the outcome of this case will result in the acknowledgement that CLS has a First Amendment right to define its membership requirements," said Aden.
ADF-allied attorney David O. Edwards of the Springfield law firm Giffin, Winning, Cohen & Bodewes, P.C., is also representing the CLS chapter in the case.
Together, ADF, America's largest legal alliance, and CLS, America's premier membership organization of Christian legal professionals, defend religious liberty, human life, marriage, and the family.
SIU ping. Do you belong to this group?
Thanks for the ping. I'm a member of CLS, but not this chapter. I've been trying to follow the case, though.
Hey, you might want to freepmail Mulch. He was asking about a SIU ping list.
I would have thought by now the notion that members of a Christian society should be Christians would be axiomatic so that no litigation would be required. This is a law school, for Pete's sake!
there have been a few positive ruling regarding christian students and first amendment rights lately
help me understand this, are we finally seeing some of the effects of bush appointed judges over the last 4+ years or are the cases so over the edge they would have gone that way anyways?
Well, I'd like to see a study to note whether we're just hearing more about the rare cases or if there has been an increase BUT
If there has been an increase I'd state it's probably a combo of factors. Better Judges, more sensitivity to the public that is fed up with their freedom to religion being restricted by a tyrannical Judiciary and that the anti-religion nuts have been so successful in ridding God from the public that overcome by success they've ventured into the most absurd of cases before the court that even people uncomfortable with prayer in school or the Ten Commandments think is going too far.
Shouldn't this be non-discrimination policy? Does this mean that a Christian student group must recruit a specific percentage of people of every other religion?
We're also seeing more and more organizations willing to step up and resist the corrosive societal effect of groups like the ACLU. Fighting back, so to speak.
That is certainly part of the equasion.
SPOTREP
I just graduated from law school. Christians were not subjected to this nonsense where I went (University of Tulsa).
Great! Hey, if you're so inclined check out Christian legal groups such as the Alliance Defense Fund, Liberty Counsel, or the Center for Law & Justice. There are ways to combine faith and profession.
bump for later reading
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