<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1663271772869,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000177-1b39-d2c7-af7f-5fbf13ff0004","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1663271772869,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000177-1b39-d2c7-af7f-5fbf13ff0004","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_63271766", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1041556"} }); ","_id":"00000183-42b9-d1ea-a9c7-67ff1b090000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe Supreme Court on Wednesday denied Yeshiva University’s emergency request to block a lower court order requiring the New York-based school to recognize an LGBT club on campus, saying the matter can return to the high court after it has exhausted state court channels.
The 5-4 ruling Wednesday evening means that the lower court ruling can go into effect for now. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a temporary stay on the lower court ruling on Friday, a move that likely allowed justices more time to weigh the school’s emergency request.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, both Republican appointees, joined the liberal bloc of Sotomayor and Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote a dissent joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett, saying the university would “likely win if its case came before us.” Alito added that the high court does possess the authority to halt the lower court ruling.
SOTOMAYOR TEMPORARILY BLOCKS RECOGNITION OF LGBT CLUB AT YESHIVA UNIVERSITY
Alito’s dissent delved into the tenets of the First Amendment, arguing that if the “guarantees of the right to the free exercise of religion “means anything, it prohibits a state from enforcing its own preferred interpretation of Holy Scripture.”
“Yet that is exactly what New York has done in this case, and it is disappointing that a majority of this court refuses to provide relief,” Alito added.
Yeshiva, established in 1886 and considered one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish universities in the nation, filed the emergency request to the high court on Aug. 29, calling a judge’s June decision in the New York Supreme Court First Judicial District an “unprecedented intrusion” into the university’s sincere religious beliefs.
Following the high court’s emergency request denial, university President Rabbi Ari Berman said the institution “simply seeks that same right of self-determination” as other faith-based schools and the ability to establish clubs that fit within tradition.
“At the same time, as our commitment to and love for our LGBTQ students are unshakeable, we continue to extend our hand in invitation to work together to create a more inclusive campus life consistent with our Torah values,” Berman added.
Katie Rosenfeld, an attorney for the LGBT club known as Pride Alliance, called the Thursday ruling a victory for students on campus.
“We are confident that we will continue to overcome the administration’s aggressive litigation strategies against its own LGBTQ+ students, who choose to attend Yeshiva University because they are committed to the school’s mission,” Rosenfeld said in a statement.
In recent years, the high court’s 6-3 Republican-appointed majority of justices has expanded religious rights while also alarming some critics who claim the separation of church and state is narrowing.
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Last term, the majority of justices ruled in favor of a Christian family in Maine who sued to allow taxpayer money to pay for their children to attend religious schools. The court also ruled in favor of a public high school coach who refused to cease praying on the football field after games.
The fall term, beginning Oct. 3, will see the court hear oral arguments in a legal battle involving a Christian web designer’s First Amendment claim that she cannot be forced under a Colorado anti-discrimination law to create websites commissioned by same-sex couples.
