Welcome to BSALegal.org!
 This website was created on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America to inform the public about the legal issues that confront Scouting. Scouting has been under relentless legal assault and publicity barrage since the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the Scouts' First Amendment right to freedom of association in 2000. Scouting will defend itself and the constitutional rights we all share as Americans. Most importantly, Boy Scouts of America will not allow the attacks to sway it from its mission: to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Please visit this site often as it will be updated frequently. You are invited to register to be kept current on its contents. You will be notified by email when new information and features are added and when there are developments in the issues. On behalf of the more than three hundred Boy Scout Councils throughout America, welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read, listen, watch and learn. |
|  | Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Ninth Circuit sends San Diego Boy Scout case to Cal Supreme Court with "unprecedented" standing rulingBoy Scouts of America issued the following statement today:Boy Scouts of America and San Diego-Imperial Council, Boy Scouts of America are disappointed that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Barnes-Wallace v. Boy Scouts of America has decided to send the case to the California Supreme Court to answer several questions of California constitutional law before the Ninth Circuit issues its ultimate decision. (Read the ruling here.) Today’s decision from the Ninth Circuit denies review by the full court of a decision the Court issued in June. That decision concluded that plaintiffs, who never even tried to visit properties leased by Boy Scouts, have standing to sue to break the leases from the City of San Diego because they do not like Boy Scouts’ values. In a dissenting opinion for six Ninth Circuit judges, Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain concluded that the “unprecedented” standing ruling “creates a new legal landscape in which almost anyone who is almost offended by almost anything has standing to air his or her displeasure in court.” Read more »
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Scouts pass key test in Philly lawsuitThe Philadelphia Daily News reported today that the Cradle of Liberty Council's lawsuit against the City could move forward on First Amendment grounds. A federal judge threw out the City's assertions that, as a matter of law, it did not discriminate against Cradle of Liberty Council. The case will proceed to determine the details about the City's actions against Boy Scouts in light of how the City favorably treats other organizations with their own membership limitations.U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter said the complaint provided "sufficient allegations" to conclude the city's actions "may have compromised" the chapter's First Amendment rights. However, he said the court also "lacked a developed record" at this stage of the litigation and more discovery was needed.
Here is Judge Buckwalter's decision. Here is the link to the Council's lawsuit filed last May.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
U.S. Ninth Circuit issues order in San Diego appeal Boy Scouts of America and San Diego-Imperial Council, Boy Scouts of America note that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Barnes-Wallace v. Boy Scouts of America has decided to certify questions of California law to the California Supreme Court. Today’s decision from the Ninth Circuit declines to rule on the merits of the case but instead asks the California Supreme Court to answer questions about California constitutional law that the ACLU raised. “It is disappointing that after all these years, proceedings in the case are to be further extended, especially since, as the dissenting opinion of Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld so forcefully points out, none of the plaintiffs has suffered any injury or has any standing to sue,” said Boy Scouts attorney George A. Davidson. Here is the Ninth Circuit's order.
Read more »
Friday, May 23, 2008
Boy Scouts sues City of PhiladelphiaThe Cradle of Liberty Council of Boy Scouts of America today sued the City of Philadelphia to prevent the City from violating the Scouts' constitutional rights.The lawsuit can be downloaded by clicking here.
Read more »
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Chicago Tribune: "Boy Scouts push for new relevance"The Chicago Tribune looks at the Boy Scouts of America in today's newspaper as the organization approaches its centenary in 2010: "Bruised by America's culture wars, battered by lawsuits alleging that it discriminates against atheists and gays, and beset by eroding enrollments, the Boy Scouts of America is approaching its centenary in 2010 determined to regain its footing as the nation's premier volunteer program to help boys grow into responsible men."
Read the story here.
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Boy Scouts of America and San Diego-Imperial Council, Boy Scouts of America have filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States asking the Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s recent decisions about Scouting leases in San Diego. The case is Boy Scouts of America v. Barnes-Wallace, No. 08-1222.