From Perlot v. Green, decided yesterday by Chief Judge David Nye (D. Idaho), the facts:
On April 1, 2022, the law school at the University of Idaho held a "moment of community" in response to an anti-LGBTQ+ slur that had been left anonymously on a whiteboard in one of its classrooms …. Plaintiffs Perlot, Miller, and Alexander are law students and members of the University's chapter of the Christian Legal Society ("CLS"). Plaintiff Seamon is a professor at the law school and the CLS faculty advisor.
At the event, Plaintiffs gathered in prayer—with members of their society and others—in a showing of support for the LGBTQ+ community. After the prayer concluded, Jane Doe {a queer female and a law student at the University of Idaho School of Law} approached the group and asked those present why the CLS constitution affirms that marriage is between one man and one woman. Plaintiff Miller explained that CLS adhered to the traditional biblical view of marriage and sexuality—including the concept that marriage is defined as being between one man and one woman. Jane Doe expressed her opinion that the Bible did not support such a conclusion. Miller explained further that the Bible defines marriage as between one man and one woman in several places and that it condemns homosexuality—along with all other sins. Plaintiff Seamon purportedly affirmed Miller's explanation of CLS's position on marriage.
According to both sides, the parties then parted ways without further comment. Shortly after the event, Plaintiff Perlot left a handwritten note on Jane Doe's carrel. The note read—in its entirety: "I'm the president of CLS this semester. Feel free to come talk to me if you have anything you need to say or questions you want to ask. I'm usually in my carrel: 6-034. over by the windows. Peter [smiley face]." {Defendants relay that Jane Doe interpreted this action as "violating" her private carrel with "messaging she interpreted as one of the Plaintiffs' efforts to proselytize about extreme hateful religious dogma that [she] emphatically rejects."}
A few days later, on April 4, 2022, Plaintiffs Perlot and Alexander attended an event with other students regarding the American Bar Association's accreditation of the law school. According to Plaintiffs, Jane Doe and others raised concerns about CLS and its members—namely that they held religious beliefs that were bigoted and anti-LGBTQ+. Plaintiff Alexander then spoke up, defended CLS, and stated that the biggest instance of discrimination he had seen on campus was actually against CLS and the administration's failure to timely recognize and register it as a group.
