April Fools: pnn f th Crt: Hly v. Jms 1972

By MR. JSTC LWS F. PWLL JR. Last updated Apr 1, 2024

Th stdnts f Cntrl Cnnctct Stt Cllg clbrt thr mnmntl vctry fr fr spch! PHT CRDT: LJH HRTWLL WHT ’26

t th tst w nt tht stt cllgs nd nvrsts r nt nclvs mmn frm th swp f th Frst mndmnt. “t cn hrdly b rgd tht thr stdnts r tchrs shd thr cnstttnl rghts t frdm f spch r xprssn t th schlhs gt.” Tnkr v. Ds Mns ndpndnt Schl Dstrct, 393 .S. 503, 506 (1969). f crs, s Mr. Jstc Frts md clr n Tnkr, Frst mndmnt rghts mst lwys b ppld “n lght f th spcl chrctrstcs f th . . . nvrnmnt” n th prtclr cs. bd. nd, whr stt-prtd dctnl nstttns r nvlvd, ths Crt hs lng rcgnzd “th nd fr ffrmng th cmprhnsv thrty f th Stts nd f schl ffcls, cnsstnt wth fndmntl cnstttnl sfgrds, t prscrb nd cntrl cndct n th schls.” d., t 507. Yt, th prcdnts f ths Crt lv n rm fr th vw tht, bcs f th cknwldgd nd fr rdr, Frst mndmnt prtctns shld pply wth lss frc n cllg cmpss thn n th cmmnty t lrg. Qt t th cntrry, “[t]h vglnt prtctn f cnstttnl frdms s nwhr mr vtl thn n th cmmnty f mrcn schls.” Shltn v. Tckr, 364 .S. 479, 487 (1960). Th cllg clssrm wth ts srrndng nvrns s pclrly th “`mrktplc f ds,'” nd w brk n nw cnstttnl grnd n rffrmng ths Ntn’s ddctn t sfgrdng cdmc [408 .S. 169, 181] frdm. Kyshn v. Brd f Rgnts, 385 .S. 589, 603 (1967); Swzy v. Nw Hmpshr, 354 .S. 234, 249 -250 (1957) (plrlty pnn f Mr. Chf Jstc Wrrn), 262 (Frnkfrtr, J., cncrrng n rslt).

mng th rghts prtctd by th Frst mndmnt s th rght f ndvdls t ssct t frthr thr prsnl blfs. Whl th frdm f ssctn s nt xplctly st t n th mndmnt, t hs lng bn hld t b mplct n th frdms f spch, ssmbly, nd pttn. S, . g., Brd v. Stt Br f rzn, 401 .S. 1, 6 (1971); NCP v. Bttn, 371 .S. 415, 430 (1963); Lsn x rl. Grmlln v. NCP, 366 .S. 293, 296 (1961); NCP v. lbm x rl. Pttrsn, 357 .S. 449 (1958) (Hrln, J., fr nnms Crt). Thr cn b n dbt tht dnl f ffcl rcgntn, wtht jstfctn, t cllg rgnztns brdns r brdgs tht ssctnl rght. Th prmry mpdmnt t fr ssctn flwng frm nnrcgntn s th dnl f s f cmps fclts fr mtngs nd thr pprprt prpss. Th prctcl ffct f nnrcgntn ws dmnstrtd n ths cs whn, svrl dys ftr th Prsdnt’s dcsn ws nnncd, pttnrs wr nt llwd t hld mtng n th cmps cff shp bcs thy wr nt n pprvd grp.

Pttnrs’ ssctnl ntrsts ls wr crcmscrbd by th dnl f th s f cmps blltn brds nd th schl nwsppr. f n rgnztn s t rmn vbl ntty n cmps cmmnty n whch nw stdnts ntr n rglr bss, t mst pssss th mns f cmmnctng wth ths stdnts. Mrvr, th rgnztn’s blty t prtcpt n th ntllctl gv nd tk f cmps dbt, nd t prs ts sttd prpss, s lmtd by dnl f ccss t th cstmry md fr cmmnctng wth th dmnstrtn, [408 .S. 169, 182] fclty mmbrs, nd thr stdnts. 8 Sch mpdmnts cnnt b vwd s nsbstntl.

Rspndnts nd th crts blw ppr t hv tkn th vw tht dnl f ffcl rcgntn n ths cs brdgd n cnstttnl rghts. Th Dstrct Crt cncldd tht

“Prsdnt Jms’ dscrtnry ctn n dnyng ths pplctn cnnt b lgtmtly mgnfd nd dstrtd nt cnstttnlly cgnzbl ntrfrnc wth th prsnl ds r blfs f ny sgmnt f th cllg stdnts; nthr ds hs ctn dtr n ny mtrl wy th ndvdl dvccy f thr prsnl blfs; nr cn hs ctn b rsnbly cnstrd t b n nvsn f, r hvng chllng ffct n cdmc frdm.” 319 F. Spp., t 116.n tht crt’s vw ll tht ws dnd pttnrs ws th “dmnstrtv sl f ffcl cllg rspctblty.” 9 bd. mjrty f th Crt f ppls grd tht pttnrs hd bn dnd nly th “cllg’s stmp f pprvl.” 445 F.2d, t 1131. Rspndnts tk tht sm pstn hr, rgng tht pttnrs stll my mt s grp ff cmps, tht [408 .S. 169, 183] thy stll my dstrbt wrttn mtrl ff cmps, nd tht thy stll my mt tgthr nfrmlly n cmps – s ndvdls, bt nt s CCSC-SDS.

W d nt gr wth th chrctrztn by th crts blw f th cnsqncs f nnrcgntn. W my cncd, s dd Mr. Jstc Hrln n hs pnn fr nnms Crt n NCP v. lbm x rl. Pttrsn, 357 .S., t 461 , tht th dmnstrtn “hs tkn n drct ctn . . . t rstrct th rghts f [pttnrs] t ssct frly . . . .” Bt th Cnstttn’s prtctn s nt lmtd t drct ntrfrnc wth fndmntl rghts. Th rqrmnt n Pttrsn tht th NCP dscls ts mmbrshp lsts ws fnd t b n mprmssbl, thgh ndrct, nfrngmnt f th mmbrs’ ssctnl rghts. Lkws, n ths cs, th grp’s pssbl blty t xst tsd th cmps cmmnty ds nt mlrt sgnfcntly th dsblts mpsd by th Prsdnt’s ctn. W r nt fr t dsrgrd th prctcl rlts. MR. JSTC STWRT hs md th slnt pnt: “Frdms sch s ths r prtctd nt nly gnst hvy-hndd frntl ttck, bt ls frm bng stfld by mr sbtl gvrnmntl ntrfrnc.” Bts v. Cty f Lttl Rck, 361 .S. 516, 523 (1960). S ls Swzy v. Nw Hmpshr, 354 .S., t 263 (Frnkfrtr, J., cncrrng n rslt); Wtkns v. ntd Stts, 354 .S. 178, 197 (1957).

Th pnns blw ls ssmd tht pttnrs hd th brdn f shwng nttlmnt t rcgntn by th Cllg. 10 Whl pttnrs hv nt chllngd th prcdrl rqrmnt tht thy fl n pplctn n cnfrmty wth th rls f th Cllg, 11 thy d [408 .S. 169, 184] qstn th vw f th crts blw tht fnl rjctn cld rst n thr flr t cnvnc th dmnstrtn tht thr rgnztn ws nffltd wth th Ntnl SDS. Fr rsns t b sttd ltr n ths pnn, w d nt cnsdr th ss f ffltn t b cntrllng n. Bt, prt frm ny prtclr ss, nc pttnrs hd fld n pplctn n cnfrmty wth th rqrmnts, th brdn ws pn th Cllg dmnstrtn t jstfy ts dcsn f rjctn. S, . g., Lw Stdnts Cvl Rghts Rsrch Cncl v. Wdmnd, 401 .S. 154, 162 -163 (1971); ntd Stts v. ‘Brn, 391 .S. 367, 376 -377 (1968); Spsr v. Rndll, 357 .S. 513 (1958). t s t b rmmbrd tht th ffct f th Cllg’s dnl f rcgntn ws frm f prr rstrnt, dnyng t pttnrs’ rgnztn th rng f ssctnl ctvts dscrbd bv. Whl cllg hs lgtmt ntrst n prvntng dsrptn n th cmps, whch ndr crcmstncs rqrng th sfgrdng f tht ntrst my jstfy sch rstrnt, “hvy brdn” rsts n th cllg t dmnstrt th pprprtnss f tht ctn. S Nr v. Mnnst, 283 .S. 697, 713 -716 (1931); rgnztn fr Bttr stn v. Kf, 402 .S. 415, 418 (1971); Frdmn v. Mrylnd, 380 .S. 51, 57 (1965).