Is the Solomon Amendment Which Denies Federal Funds to Universities That Restrict Military Recruiters on Campus, Constitutional? Pro.

CONSTITUTIONAL law; RECRUITING & enlistment (Armed Forces); APPELLATE procedure; LAW schools; FREEDOM of speech; RUMSFELD, Donald, 1932-2021; CLEMENT, Paul D.

In 1994, Congress passed a law denying Department of Defense funds to any institute of higher education that prohibits military recruiters access to campus. Congress has since expanded the law, known as the Solomon Amendment, to broaden the number of government agencies included in a fund ban and to require that universities give military recruiters the same level of access as other employers. In September 2003, the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), an association of law schools, led a suit against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and five other Cabinet secretaries, alleging that the Solomon Amendment violated the universities' First Amendment freedom of speech. After a Federal district court upheld the Solomon Amendment, FAIR appealed, and on November 29, 2004, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed. The U.S. Government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted certiorari on May 2, 2005. Paul D. Clement was named acting solicitor general on July 12, 2004, having served as principal deputy solicitor general since 2001. He is also an adjunct professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University. He received his law degree from Harvard University in 1994. The following is excerpted from the Brief for the Petitioners as submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 19, 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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