Federal District Courts, Religious Speech, and the Public Forum: An Analysis of Litigation Patterns and Outcomes

Abstract

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Good News Club v. Milford Central School continued a two-decade trend of cases address ing merger of two First Amendment freedoms: freedom of speech and freedom of religion.1 In Good News, Court focused on a New York school district's refusal to let a private Christian organization hold after-school Bible classes in a public school cafeteria for elementary school children. Although school district allowed other community groups to use its facilities after hours, its policy excluded religious us age. Thus, it denied use of its facilities to Good News Club because club's meetings were the equivalent of religious worship.2 By a 6-3 majority, Court ruled in favor of Good News Club. Since school created a limited public forum by allowing access to its facilities by community groups, it had to open its facilities to all groups regardless of their viewpoint or message. While school is not required to allow every type of speech in forum, as Court noted, its power to limit speech is constrained by constitutional requirements of Free Speech Clause, which prohibit discrimination against a speaker because of speaker's specific viewpoint. Writing for Court, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that