On Tuesday, Yeshiva University and the student Pride Alliance agreed to a stay of the NY state trial court’s order forcing the Jewish institution to recognize an official Yeshiva “Pride Alliance” student club.
We reported on the conflict between the school and the club previously:
Earlier this month, Yeshiva University asked the United States Supreme Court to block the state court’s order forcing it to recognize the club. The Court sent the University back to state court to finish out the appeals process but signaled that it would likely prevail on its return to the Supreme Court.
The University is represented by its lawyers at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who released this statement yesterday:
Yeshiva University and the Pride Alliance group have independently agreed that a stay should be entered to allow Yeshiva to appeal a ruling against it without the threat of sanctions. In June, a state court ordered Yeshiva to “immediately” give official recognition to Pride Alliance, an LGBTQ pride group. Yeshiva had been seeking the stay of that order from various courts since June, with Pride Alliance arguing that a stay was improper.Yesterday, however, the Pride Alliance reversed course and agreed to enter into a stay. The change comes a few days after the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling directing further state court action, with four Justices indicating Yeshiva is “likely” to prevail on its claims, and the other five Justices inviting Yeshiva back if the state courts failed to grant relief. In the wake of that order, the New York Appellate Division on Tuesday, September 20, agreed to reconsider its prior ruling against Yeshiva. And now Pride Alliance has agreed that Yeshiva should be able to conduct its appeals without being forced to violate its religious identity.
Earlier this month, when faced with the court-compelled violation of its religious principles, the school said it would freeze all undergraduate club activity pending its return to the Supreme Court.
Given Yeshiva’s likely success there—and a likely precedential Supreme Court ruling against the club—the Pride Alliance walked back its objections and reached an agreement with the school, agreeing to the stay. The University has announced that student club activity will resume in the coming weeks:
[W]e are starting clubs after the Jewish Holidays when students are back on campus,” said Hanan Eisenman, Director Of Communications at Yeshiva University. “Now that Pride Alliance has offered a stay, we have sent their lawyers a signed agreement to stay the trial court order. We look forward to working together to quickly resolve this issue.Such a resolution seems more likely in light of the Supreme Court’s message to the state courts that they will be reversed on appeal.UPDATE – 9-29-2022: The Appellate Division ordered a stay pursuant to the parties’ stipulation on September 29, 2022.
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