Court: Supreme Court of the United States, No. 24-1261
Case Status: Ongoing, Petition for Writ of Certiorari
Center Involvement: Brief Amicus Curiae
Date of Filing: July 8, 2025
Cambridge Christian School, Inc., v. Florida High School Athletic Association
Players and spectators at Cambridge Christian School football games traditionally pray before every game, using the stadium loudspeaker so that everyone can participate and feel connected to the communal prayer. When Cambridge Christian made it to the state championship game in 2015, the Florida High School Athletic Association would not let them pray over the loudspeaker, citing the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and claiming that allowing them to use the loudspeaker would be an impermissible government endorsement of religion. The school sued, alleging violations of their free speech and free exercise rights, and the Athletic Association changed their defense to claim that using the loudspeaker made the prayer “government speech,” which could be regulated without interfering with the Free Exercise or Free Speech clauses. The Center’s brief in support of their petition for cert to the Supreme Court argues that the lower courts misapplied the government speech doctrine in a way that allows them to “get around” or ignore the Supreme Court’s free exercise jurisprudence, by categorizing what should rightly be considered a religious exercise as “government speech.” The brief also introduces new ideas about how the Establishment Clause should be properly applied, in the wake of the Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.
Court Filings:
24-1261-Amicus-Brief