Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/09pdf/08-1371.pdf
Page Number: 75

Cite as:  561 U. S. ____ (2010) 

27 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

groups’  beliefs.  Religious  groups  like  CLS  obviously  en-
gage  in  expressive  association,  and  no  legitimate  state
interest could override the powerful effect that an accept-
all-comers  law  would  have  on  the  ability  of  religious 
groups  to  express  their  views.  The  State  of  California 
surely  could  not  demand  that  all  Christian  groups  admit 
members  who  believe  that  Jesus  was  merely  human. 
Jewish groups could not be required to admit anti-Semites 
and Holocaust deniers.  Muslim groups could not be forced 
to admit persons who are viewed as slandering Islam. 

While there can be no question that the State of Califor-
nia  could  not  impose  such  restrictions  on  all  religious
groups in the State, the Court now holds that Hastings, a
state  institution,  may  impose  these  very  same  require-
ments on students who wish to participate in a forum that
is designed to foster the expression of diverse viewpoints.
The  Court  lists  four  justifications  offered  by  Hastings  in 
defense  of  the  accept-all-comers  policy  and,  deferring  to 
the school’s judgment, ante, at 21, the Court finds all those 
justifications  satisfactory,  ante,  at  21–24.    If  we  carry
out  our  responsibility  to  exercise  our  own  independent 
judgment,  however,  we  must  conclude  that  the  justifica-
tions  offered  by  Hastings  and  accepted  by  the  Court  are
insufficient. 

The Court first says that the accept-all-comers policy is
reasonable because it helps Hastings to ensure that “ ‘lead-
ership, educational, and social opportunities’ ” are afforded
to all students.  Ante, at 21–22 (quoting Brief for Respon-
dent  Hastings  College  of  Law  32).    The  RSO  forum,  how-
ever, is designed to achieve these laudable ends in a very 
different  way—by  permitting  groups  of  students,  no  mat-
ter how small, to form the groups they want.  In this way,
the forum multiplies the opportunity for students to serve
in leadership positions; it allows students to decide which
educational  opportunities  they  wish  to  pursue  through
participation  in  extracurricular  activities;  and  it  permits