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Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Cook v. Rumsfeld
April 25, 2006 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Another reminder that the constitution is rarely the solution when government adopts poor policies.
The military's Don't' Ask, Don't Tell policy was challenged by former military service members who were forced to leave the military due to the policy. They sued claiming violation of 5th amendment due process equal protection and 1st amendment free speech. They lost. Cook v. Rumsfeld (D. Mass. 04/24/2006).
Other courts reached the same conclusion, so why is this case special?
Some lawyers thought that Lawrence v. Texas (US Supreme Court 2003) (striking down the Texas sodomy statute) changed the legal landscape. The usual constitutional rule is that Congress needs only to have a "rational basis" to justify a statute. In some cases (example: race discrimination, some free speech and religion cases) Congress has to have a compelling governmental interest.
The judge in Cook v. Rumsfeld concluded that the Supreme Court used the rational basis test in Lawrence, and therefore, that's still the correct test to use. Using that test, he found ample justification for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell rule.
Leonard Link provides good analysis and details at Boston Judge Rejects "Don't Ask Don't Tell" Challenge
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Editor: Ross Runkel, Professor of Law Emeritus. email Ross@LawMemo.Com, Phone 503-399-8028. Copyright LawMemo, Inc.
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