| Good News Club v. Milford Central School | |
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| Argued February 28, 2001 Decided June 11, 2001 | |
| Full case name | Good News Club, et al. v. Milford Central School |
| Citations | 533 U.S. 98 (more) 121 S. Ct. 2093; 150 L. Ed. 2d 151; 2001 U.S. LEXIS 4312; 69 U.S.L.W. 4451; 2001 Cal. Daily Op. Service 4737; 2001 Daily Journal DAR 5858; 2001 Colo. J. C.A.R. 2934; 14 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 337 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 21 F. Supp. 2d 147 (N.D.N.Y. 1998); affirmed, 202 F.3d 502 (2d Cir. 2000); cert. granted, 531 U.S. 923 (2000). |
| Holding | |
| Restrictions on speech that take place in a limited public forum must not discriminate on the basis of the speaker's viewpoint and be reasonable in light of the forum's purpose. Because the school's exclusion of the Good News Club violated this principle, the school violated the Club's free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. Furthermore, the school's claim that allowing the club to meet on its property would violate the Establishment Clause lacked merit and thus was no defense to the club's First Amendment claim. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy; Breyer (in part) |
| Concurrence | Scalia |
| Concurrence | Breyer (in part) |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Dissent | Souter, joined by Ginsburg |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amends. I, XIV; N.Y. Educ. Law § 414 | |
Good News Club v. Milford Central School, 533 U.S. 98 (2001), was a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court written by Clarence Thomas holding that a public school's exclusion of a club from its limited public forum based solely on the club's religious nature was impermissible viewpoint discrimination.[1]