Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic & Institutional Rights, Inc.

Congress passed the Solomon Amendment (SA) after law schools restricted military recruiters' campus access over disagreement with the military's policy on gay servicemembers; the SA cut off certain federal funds to any institution of higher education that denied military recruiters access equal to that given other recruiters. The Forum for Academic & Institutional Rights, Inc. (FAIR) (plaintiff), representing thirty law schools facing funding loss, sued Rumsfeld and the federal government (defendant), arguing the SA unconstitutionally burdened their First Amendment rights. The district court upheld the SA, the court of appeals reversed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.