Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Sonia Sotomayor Slams Attorney Who Claims Parents Do Not Sue Schools: ‘I Have A Whole List Of Cases’
Forbes Breaking News
Follow
4/23/2025
During the oral arguments for 'Mahmoud v. Taylor', Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned an attorney about cases of parents suing schools over classroom content.
Category
🗞
News
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Well, just to be clear, under Yoder, the court left open what would happen if there were kids who objected.
00:05
But we know that these things, you know, schools around the country already have these very broad opt-out policies
00:10
across the curriculum in Hawaii for anything controversial, in Arizona for anything that parents find deem harmful.
00:15
And we just don't find these kinds of cases or these kinds of burdens where parents are bringing extreme examples.
00:22
You know, parents with kids really don't have a lot of time to be suing the school board, and they're looking for a reasonable compromise.
00:26
I have a whole list of cases where parents have objected to biographical, I'm quoting,
00:34
biographical material about women who have been recognized for achievements outside of their home,
00:41
because some people believe women should not work.
00:44
So, too, parents have objected to teachers reading books featuring divorce, interfaith marriage, or in modest dress.
00:53
Forget about the evolution, because that's come, too.
00:55
You've just said, are these all coercive?
01:01
Well, again, whatever coercive means, they could create a burden.
01:07
This court has defined burden very simply, that if someone is trying to exercise a sincere religious belief
01:12
and the government is prohibiting or inhibiting their ability to exercise that, that creates a burden.
01:16
If someone's prohibiting just looking at something that they object to, that that's burdening their religion?
01:25
Again, we don't see these cases arise in reality.
01:28
For reality's sake, you see interfaith couples all the time walking around.
01:33
You see interracial couples walking around.
01:37
You see women on this court in positions of work outside the home.
01:43
And no one here is raising a burden in that situation.
01:46
We're far beyond that word of indoctrination.
01:49
But there are cases to that effect in schools.
01:52
And those cases...
01:53
Tell me where you're going to draw the line.
01:55
Other than saying that if anyone objects to a book, well, you want more than that,
02:02
because the request here is to instruct the school to tell you its curricula,
02:10
to guess at what you might find offensive, and then let you opt out.
02:16
Because that's the injunction you're asking for, isn't it?
02:19
You're asking for the ability for schools to provide you with the information about what's being taught,
02:27
and if you object to it on religious grounds, to opt out.
02:30
Your Honor, I see my light is on. May I answer the question?
02:32
You may, yes.
02:33
Your Honor, even under Yoder, without Yoder, under a Smith regime,
02:37
in here, those things would trigger strict scrutiny.
02:39
If you're in a regime where there's direct discrimination like we have here,
02:43
we have students who are being told that they can opt out for certain religious reasons,
02:47
but not other religious reasons, and that's always going to get you to strict scrutiny.
02:51
Thank you, Councilor.
Recommended
1:53
|
Up next
Sonia Sotomayor Presses Attorney About Books With Interracial Couples In LGBTQ+ Book Ban Case
Forbes Breaking News
4/22/2025
4:55
'Please Answer My Question': Sonia Sotomayor Grills Lawyer On 'Coercion' In Case Of LGBTQ Books In Schools
Forbes Breaking News
4/22/2025
2:04
John Roberts Presses Attorney About The Relevance Of Student Age In LGBTQ+ Book Banning Case
Forbes Breaking News
4/23/2025
1:21
Sonia Sotomayor Presses Attorney About Past Rulings In Case Challenging The Affordable Care Act
Forbes Breaking News
4/23/2025
3:50
Elena Kagan Presses Attorney About Where To ‘Draw Lines’ In LGBTQ+ Book Bans Case
Forbes Breaking News
4/23/2025
1:32
Sonia Sotomayor Lays Into Attorney Over CA Emissions Rule Case: ‘That Is Really Unfair’
Forbes Breaking News
4/23/2025
4:58
Marsha Blackburn Refuses To Let Up On Law Professor For Calling Supreme Court Justices 'Eveil'
Forbes Breaking News
6/4/2025
7:22
Sonia Sotomayor Slams Trump: He Is In Violation Of ‘By My Count 4 Established' SCOTUS Precedents
Forbes Breaking News
5/15/2025
1:27
Chief Justice Roberts Questions Lawyers About 'Opt-Outs' During Hearing On LGBTQ Books In Schools
Forbes Breaking News
4/22/2025
4:10
'I Went To Second Grade Too...': Neil Gorsuch Questions Lawyers About Teaching LGBTQ+ Books In Schools
Forbes Breaking News
4/23/2025
4:36
'That Is So Ridiculous': Sotomayor Pushes Back On Attorney's Argument During Case On FBI Raids
Forbes Breaking News
4/30/2025
2:27:33
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments In Case About LGBTQ Books In Schools
Forbes Breaking News
4/22/2025
5:43
Sonia Sotomayor Does Not Hold Back Grilling Trump’s Lawyer In Birthright Citizenship Case
Forbes Breaking News
5/15/2025
1:40
Sonia Sotomayor Presses Attorney About Agency Independence In Obamacare Case
Forbes Breaking News
4/23/2025
3:14
SC Upholds UP Madarsa Education Act, Overturns Allahabad HC Verdict
Oneindia
11/5/2024
4:38
'In Terms Of Opt Out...': Elena Kagan Presses Attorney Making Case Against LGBTQ Books In Schools
Forbes Breaking News
4/22/2025
2:41
A History of the Supreme Court
Esquire
4/20/2022
7:52
Samuel Alito Presses Attorney About ‘Coercion’ During LGBTQ+ Book Bans Case Arguments
Forbes Breaking News
4/23/2025
2:00
Sonia Sotomayor Focuses On Class Action Concerns In Birthright Citizenship Case
Forbes Breaking News
5/16/2025
7:33
Amy Coney Barrett Presses Attorney About ‘Burden’ LGBTQ+ Books In Schools Place On Children
Forbes Breaking News
4/23/2025
7:46
Courtroom drama: Judge slams PG student | Lawyer | Advocate | Justice | Madhya Pradesh Court Hearing
HW News English
6/6/2023
7:01
Justice Vivek Agrawal Criticizes University Over Wrong Examination Practices | MP High Court Live
HW News English
6/26/2023
4:49
'I Guess I Am A Bit Mystified': Brett Kavanaugh Grills Lawyers In Case Involving LGBTQ+ Books In Schools
Forbes Breaking News
4/22/2025
1:28
Clarence Thomas Grills Lawyer During Oral Arguments On Potential Bans Of LGBTQ+ Books In Schools
Forbes Breaking News
4/22/2025
1:07:23
Justice Elena Kagan Discusses Supreme Court Ethics Following Reports On Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crow
Forbes Breaking News
9/22/2023