Unanimous
Supreme Court Upholds Solomon Amendment
March 6, 2006. By an 8-0 margin, the Supreme Court decided
that Congress can give the military a statutory right to
recruit prospective lawyers at law schools whose universities
receive federal aid, grants or contracts. Rumsfeld
v. FAIR, No. 04-1152.
The amicus brief filed by the dean and two professors at George Mason's law
school was the only one submitted by a law school that took the side of the
armed services. Many amicus briefs were filed on the losing side (including
briefs in behalf of Yale University,
Harvard University, Columbia University, New York University,
the University of Chicago, Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania),
arguing that the Solomon Amendment's requirement of equal
access for military recruiters was unconstitutional under
the First Amendment. In addition, professors at Columbia and Harvard law schools submitted
briefs arguing that as a matter of statutory construction the law schools
had in fact complied with the Solomon Amendment. The constitutional and
statutory arguments were all rejected by the Court.
The George Mason brief was signed
by Dean Daniel Polsby and Professors Nelson Lund and Joseph
Zengerle in behalf of six other George Mason professors,
seven George Mason law students, and some eighty professors
and students from other law schools. Lead counsel on the
George Mason brief was Will Consovoy (’01), along
with Andrew McBride, Seth Wood and Wiley, Rein & Fielding.
A unanimous
constitutional opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court, written
by the Chief Justice and uncompromised by any concurring
opinion is the strongest possible American legal authority.
For information on George Mason's involvement in the Solomon
Amendment litigation and related amicus brief, please contact
Joseph
Zengerle, Executive Director, Clinic for Legal Assistance
to Servicemembers (jzengerl@gmu.edu).
Related Links:
Supreme
Court Smackdown!, By Adam Liptak. The
New York Times, March 12, 2006
U.S. Military: 8
Elite Law Schools: 0;
How Did So Many Professors Misunderstand the Law?,by GMU
Law Professor Peter Berkowitz, Weekly Standard, March 20, 2006
University Ban on Military Recruiters Rejected, by Guy Taylor,
The Washington Times, March 7, 2006
Professor Joseph Zengerle Participates in Debate
Over Solomon Amendment
Dean Daniel Polsby
Debates Professor William Eskridge on Solomon Amendment
Brief Amicus Curiae of
Law Professors and Law Students in Support of Petitioners, Rumsfeld v.
F.A.I.R
Lacking
the Wisdom of Solomon: Law Professors' Misguided
Opposition to the Solomon Amendment, by GMU
Law Professor Peter Berkowitz, National Review
Online, December 5, 2005
Military
on Campus Splits Law Faculties,The
National Law Journal, 09-07-2005
Future
of Campus Military Recruiting Hangs in Balance
at High Court In: The Crimson, Sunday
December 4, 2005 (Quoting Dean Polsby).
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