Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/09pdf/08-1371.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2009 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued.
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY CHAPTER OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, HASTINGS COLLEGE

OF THE LAW, AKA HASTINGS CHRISTIAN FELLOW-

SHIP v. MARTINEZ ET AL. 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE NINTH CIRCUIT 

No. 08–1371.  Argued April 19, 2010—Decided June 28, 2010 

Respondent Hastings College of the Law (Hastings), a school within the
University  of  California  public-school  system,  extends  official  recog-
nition  to  student  groups  through  its  “Registered  Student  Organiza-
tion”  (RSO)  program.    Several  benefits  attend  this  school-approved
status,  including  the  use  of  school  funds,  facilities,  and  channels  of 
communication, as well as Hastings’ name and logo.  In exchange for 
recognition, RSOs must abide by certain conditions.  Critical here, all 
RSOs must comply with the school’s Nondiscrimination Policy, which 
tracks state law barring discrimination on a number of bases, includ-
ing religion and sexual orientation. Hastings interprets this policy, as
it  relates  to  the  RSO  program,  to  mandate  acceptance of  all  comers: 
RSOs  must  allow  any  student  to  participate,  become  a  member,  or
seek leadership positions, regardless of her status or beliefs.

At the beginning of the 2004–2005 academic year, the leaders of an
existing  Christian  RSO  formed  petitioner  Christian  Legal  Society
(CLS)  by  affiliating  with  a  national  Christian  association  that  char-
ters  student  chapters  at  law  schools  throughout  the  country.    These 
chapters must adopt bylaws that, inter alia, require members and of-
ficers to sign a “Statement of Faith” and to conduct their lives in ac-
cord with prescribed principles.  Among those tenets is the belief that 
sexual  activity  should  not  occur  outside  of  marriage  between  a  man 
and  a  woman.    CLS  interprets  its  bylaws  to  exclude  from  affiliation
anyone  who  engages  in  “unrepentant  homosexual  conduct”  or  holds
religious  convictions  different  from  those  in  the  Statement  of  Faith.