Document Type
Brief
Case Name
Roderick E. Theis, II v. InterMountain Education Service District Board of Directors
Publication Date
10-24-2025
Abstract
No. 25-5641
Roderick E. Theis, II v. InterMountain Education Service District Board of Directors
On Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
No. 2:25-cv-00865-HL
From the Introduction
The First Amendment promises religious believers, of all faiths, the right “to participate on equal terms” in public life. Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of Univ. of Va., 515 U.S. 819, 852–53 (1995) (Thomas, J., concurring). The Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected the idea that individuals sacrifice those rights by accepting government employment. See, e.g., Pickering v. Bd. of Educ. of Twp. High Sch. Dist. 205, 391 U.S. 563, 568 (1968). So too for public school employees, who do not “shed their constitutional rights . . . at the schoolhouse gate.” Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist., 597 U.S. 507, 527 (2022) (quotation omitted).
Of course, even First Amendment rights are not boundless, and the government has certain leeway to regulate workplace expression to carry out the work it conducts. But the balance the Supreme Court has struck between employees’ constitutional rights and the government’s workplace interests requires a clear understanding of that speech which is the government’s to control and that which isn’t.
Recommended Citation
Meiser, John A. and Kessler, Meredith Holland, "Brief of Amicus Curiae Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic in Support of Plaintiff-Appellant" (2025). Court Briefs. 82.
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/sct_briefs/82
Included in
Constitutional Law Commons, Courts Commons, First Amendment Commons
Comments
Amicus curiae is the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic within Notre Dame Law School. As an academic institution and teaching law practice, the Clinic promotes and defends the freedom of religion for all people. It advocates for the right of all people to exercise, express, and live according to their beliefs. It defends individuals and organizations of all faiths against interference with these fundamental liberties and has represented an array of groups in cases to defend the right to religious exercise.
Among other things, the Clinic works to ensure that courts uphold meaningful constitutional protections to safeguard the rights of religious believers not only to worship and practice their religion at home, but also to participate fully, equally, and openly in public life.