Today, I had the pleasure of hearing the CLS vs Martinez case and its implications being debated at the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. As a part of a lecture series co-hosted by the McConnell Center and the Federalist Socety chapter at Brandeis, two professors, Sam Marcossen, a professor of law at University of Louisville's Brandeis School of Law, and Bruce Frohnen, a professor at Ohio Northern University College of Law, debated on the merits of the recent landmark decision.
While both professors cogently presented what seem to legitimate differences on this case, I found that Frohnen admirably pointed out the serious implications this case will have for actual free speech for public forums, limited or otherwise. With this opinion of the Supreme Court, freedom of expression will be greatly hampered. It was clear that Hastings disagreed with the position of CLS chapter and determined it unfit to have access to the limited public forum of a fair prior to the first classes at Hastings Law. Instead of looking to directly applicable legal precedent, as could be found in Healy v. James, etc., the court determined the restriction of CLS' access to a table for this fair to be reasonable. This is unfortunate for all student groups, but particularly for those that may have controversial, uncomfortable, or disliked positions.
In conclusion, Justice Alito stated it best when he wrote in his dissenting opinion: "(the majority opinion) is a serious setback for freedom of expression in this country". Let us hope, for the sake of free speech and expression in this country, that time will prove him wrong.