Center Files Suit Against Ohio State in CLS Chapter Controversy
On March 12, the CLS Center filed suit against Ohio State University on behalf of the law school’s CLS chapter. The
suit asserts that the University’s application of the “religion” and “sexual orientation” components of its
non-discrimination policy to the chapter violates its constitutionally protected rights.
In order to vote for chapter leaders, a student must be a member of CLS. Membership in CLS is contingent upon signing
CLS’s statement of faith. The University calls this requirement “religious discrimination.” The chapter also imposes a
number of conduct standards upon its leaders, including the requirement that they avoid immoral sexual conduct. The
University calls this requirement “sexual orientation discrimination.”
Press Release
Supreme Court Declines to Review Boy Scout Case
On March 8, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a Second Circuit decision rejecting a claim by the Boy Scouts of
America that the state of Connecticut violated its constitutional rights by excluding it from the Connecticut State
Employee Charitable Campaign. The CLS Center had urged the Court to take the case in a friend of the court brief.
Connecticut excluded the Scouts from the campaign because the Scouts forbid homosexuals from serving as Scout leaders.
Connecticut excludes from its campaign those organizations that engage in what it calls “sexual orientation discrimination.”
Press Release
CLS Amicus Brief
California Appeals Court Says Religious Schools Ineligible for Aid
On March 9, the California Court of Appeals held that “pervasively sectarian” schools were ineligible for the benefits
of tax-exempt bond financing. The CLS Center had filed a friend of the court brief urging the court to reach the
opposite conclusion.
The Court ruled that the California Constitution forbids the California Statewide Communities Development Authority from
issuing tax-exempt bonds on behalf of seriously religious universities, colleges, and K-12 schools. The bond authority
may ask the California Supreme Court to review the decision.
CLS Amicus Brief
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