Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights

Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (2006) concerned a constitutional challenge to the Solomon Amendment, a modification in a federal statute that required the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to deny funding to institutions of higher education that refused to give military representatives access and assistance for recruiting purposes. In a unanimous opinion, with Justice Alito not participating, the Supreme Court held that the Solomon Amendment did not impose an unconstitutional condition on the receipt of federal funds, did not compel educational institutions to speak the government's message, did not regulate inherently expressive conduct, and did not violate the plaintiffs' First Amendment freedom of association. In light of the implications that Rumsfeld raises for colleges and universities, this entry reviews the case in ...