Supreme Court split 5-4 in clash over religious freedom and LGBTQ equality on Wednesday,
forcing Yeshiva University to stop discriminating against a gay rights group on campus. But majority rule had little to do with this culture war skirmish.
Rather, it was a rebuke to Yeshiva - and in particular his overzealous lawyers - for racing to SCOTUS after losing in the lower courts due to his own mistakes.
Chief Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh sided with the three liberals against the university because they believe gay students deserve equal treatment.
They did this because the Yeshiva blatantly abused the court's shadow bench in the belief that it would receive special treatment.
It was an understandable gamble. But it didn't work.
Yeshiva University v. YU Pride Alliance was formed after the school denied official recognition to a student group that affirms the equality of LGBTQ people.
A yeshiva is called a Jewish university; however, it is incorporated as a secular institution to receive government funding, and less than 5 percent of students study Jewish studies.
An LGBTQ student group accused the school of violating the New York Human Rights Act and challenged formal recognition.
The yeshiva argued that it was exempt from human rights law because it was a "religious enterprise" — adding that if the law applied,
it violated the First Amendment’s free exercise clause.