WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will uphold a ruling that Yeshiva College must allow LGBT student groups for now.
The vote was 5 to 4, with a majority saying the university, a modern Orthodox Jewish college in Manhattan, should be the first to challenge the state court’s ruling.
Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. wrote in writing to the four dissenters that further challenges were futile and that the majority had seriously damaged the university’s right to religious liberty.
“The imposition of a unique and compulsory interpretation of the Bible by the state is a shocking development that calls for reconsideration,” he wrote.
Majority orders are brief, unsigned and provisional, as is often the case when judges award applications for emergency relief. Criticizing the university’s litigation strategy, he said the university’s attorneys had not asked the state court of appeals to expedite the appeal and, in the meantime, failed to adequately block the judge’s ruling.
“If applicants do not seek and receive expedited review or interim relief from New York courts, they may return to this court,” the order states. The votes of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson were reflected.
The order dissolved a provisional stay that Justice Sotomayor entered last week.
Judge Alito wrote that asking the university to seek redress in state court amounts to a ruling that the university must waive its religious rights, at least for the time being.
“I do not believe that Yeshiva’s return to state court will be fruitful. There is no reason not to allow her to stay at this time,” he wrote. “It is our duty to defend the Constitution even if it is controversial.”
Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett joined Justice Alito’s dissenting opinion.
The lawsuit began when students at Yeshiva, which claims to be “the world’s premier institution of higher learning based on the Torah,” sought formal recognition of a club called the YU Pride Alliance. When university officials turned down the club’s request, saying that the club’s proposed activities were contrary to Jewish religious principles, the club and several students pushed back against New York City’s human rights law, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. A lawsuit was filed on the grounds of
Manhattan State Supreme Court Judge Lynn R. Kotler, despite her name, was the court of first instance and ruled in favor of students on technical grounds. She said the university was not religious and was incorporated as an educational institution, so it had to abide by New York City law.
Judge Kotler rejected the university’s argument that requiring the university to approve the club violated the constitution’s protections for the free exercise of religion. She issued an injunction requesting the college to “immediately grant” the club “full and equal accommodation, benefits, facilities and privileges to be provided to all other student groups at Yeshiva College.” did.
The university has appealed, and a state appeals court is likely to hear arguments in the case in the coming months. but the court denied the request. In Wednesday’s order, the majority said the university appeared to have failed to follow proper procedures for seeking stay from the state’s Supreme Court.
Universities, represented by the Beckett Foundation for Religious Freedom, have sought emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court. The application said the injunction violated the constitutional right to religious autonomy and free movement.
“If the permanent injunction issued below is not immediately terminated, the country’s leading Jewish university, in violation of its sincere religious beliefs and Torah values, will seek official recognition from the student body. You will be forced to give.”
The student’s attorney responded that intervention from the Supreme Court was unnecessary and premature. “This case is all about whether YU should allow student clubs access to campus classrooms for meetings and bulletin boards,” they wrote.
Katie Rosenfeld, the student’s attorney, said Wednesday’s order was a limited and prudent one.
“Yeshiva College’s attempt to take this case prematurely to the Supreme Court is a threat to students and LGBT students seeking very basic rights not contested at most other major religious colleges. It just hurts,” she said.
University attorney Eric Baxter said the court order was a temporary setback.
“Today, the Supreme Court directed Yeshiva College to make additional efforts to persuade the New York courts to grant emergency relief, and that if protection is not offered, they will return to the Supreme Court again to seek protection. I made it clear that I could do it,” he said.
The court’s order meant the judge would not, for now, address the recent conflict between anti-discrimination principles and claims of conscience. A court has considered a Colorado baker’s refusal to make a cake for a same-sex wedding to challenge state laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation, but has not reached a final resolution. did not.
But last year, a court ruled that Philadelphia’s Catholic social services agency may ignore city rules and refuse to work with same-sex couples who apply to adopt. Later in the court’s new term beginning, the judge plans to consider a sequel of sorts to the Colorado lawsuit. This is about her web designer who is against serving same-sex marriage.
Jonah E. Bromwich Contributed a report from New York.