Notre Dame Law Challenges Supreme Court Ruling

Notre Dame law professors and students filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on September 14, urging the court to reevaluate the 2004 case Locke v. Davey, which infringed on religious liberty in higher education.

The brief urged the court to overturn Locke via two ongoing cases, Hall v. Fleming and Johnson v. Fleming. Major institutions to file include the Lindsay and Matt Mouron Religious Liberty Clinic, the Notre Dame Law Project, the Notre Dame Program on Church, State, & Society, and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union).

A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the Hall and Johnson cases could overturn Locke, which allows states to uphold statutes that permit certain scholarships to deny recipients funding based upon their intent to study a topic related to religion. Even though the court has narrowed the definition of Locke, it still allows for the exclusion of those who seek religion-adjacent degrees.