Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/09pdf/08-1371.pdf
Page Number: 51.0

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

3 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

denied  registration,  i.e.,  the  school’s  written  Nondiscrimi-
nation  Policy,  or  the  policy  that  Hastings  belatedly  un-
veiled when it filed its brief in this Court.  Overwhelming
evidence,  however,  shows  that  Hastings  denied  CLS’s 
application pursuant to the Nondiscrimination Policy and 
that the accept-all-comers policy was nowhere to be found 
until  it  was  mentioned  by  a  former  dean  in  a  deposition 
taken well after this case began.

The  events  that  gave  rise  to  this  litigation  began  in 
2004,  when  a  small  group  of  Hastings  students  sought  to
register  a  Hastings  chapter  of  CLS,  a  national  organiza-
tion  of  Christian  lawyers  and  law  students.    All  CLS 
members  must  sign  a  Statement  of  Faith  affirming  belief 
in  fundamental  Christian  doctrines,  including  the  belief
that the Bible is “the inspired Word of God.”  App. 226.  In 
early 2004, the national organization adopted a resolution
stating  that  “[i]n  view  of  the  clear  dictates  of  Scripture,
unrepentant  participation  in  or  advocacy  of  a  sexually 
immoral lifestyle is inconsistent with an affirmation of the 
Statement of Faith, and consequently may be regarded by 
CLS  as  disqualifying  such  an  individual  from  CLS  mem-
bership.”  Id., at 146.  The resolution made it clear that “a 
sexually immoral lifestyle,” in CLS’s view, includes engag-
ing  in  “acts  of  sexual  conduct  outside  of  God’s  design  for
marriage between one man and one woman.”  Ibid.  It was 
shortly after this resolution was passed that the Hastings
chapter of CLS applied to register with the law school. 

Hastings  sponsors  an  active  program  of  “registered
student organizations” (RSOs) pursuant to the law school’s
avowed  responsibility  to  “ensure  an  opportunity  for  the
expression  of  a  variety  of  viewpoints”  and  promote  “the
highest  standards  of  .  .  .  freedom  of  expression,”  App.  to 
Pet. for Cert. 82a, 74a.  During the 2004–2005 school year,
Hastings  had  more  than  60  registered  groups,  including
political groups (e.g., the Hastings Democratic Caucus and
the  Hastings  Republicans),  religious  groups  (e.g.,  the