Calif. Ban on Judges’ Boy Scouts Membership Raises Questions

Some California judges are concerned that a state Supreme Court ban on belonging to the Boy Scouts of America goes too far in limiting their private lives, according to NPR. Judges who are members of the nonprofit have until January 2016 to cut ties.

In January, the Supreme Court of California unanimously voted to ban the state’s 2,200 judges from the nonprofit youth group because it prohibits gay troop leaders. That ruling removed an exemption for nonprofits dating back to 1996 that banned judges from belonging to groups that discriminate based on sexual orientation. Judges are also banned from joining groups like country clubs that exclude Jews or women.

Legal experts predict these issues of judges’ free association rights could one day be argued by the U.S. Supreme Court.