Private: Summary of Amicus Curiae Brief from the CATO Institute in Support of FAIR

By William Wetmore, George Washington University
The CATO Institute puts forth the following the following arguments in support of FAIR: (1) The law schools assert protected associational rights; and (2)The Solomon Amendment is an unconstitutional condition.#160;
The CATO institute argues that the U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized that the First Amendment is "the indispensable condition of nearly every other form of freedom."#160; Justice Holmes, in his dissent in Abrams v. U.S, best postulated the theory that the First Amendment is "the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market."#160; For over 40 years, the Supreme Court has recognized an individual's right under the First Amendment to freely associate in order to advance shared ideas.#160; According to the CATO institute, "Protecting the freedom to associate secures two key benefit. First, it "preserves political and cultural diversity and