Cammermeyer v. Aspin - Summary Judgment

Cammermeyer and the U.S. government filed cross-motions for summary judgment in the case and presented oral arguments as to these motions on 20 April 1994. The court granted Cammermeyer's motion for summary judgment regarding her Fifth Amendment equal protection and substantive due process claims.

The court also granted the government's motion for summary judgment regarding all of Cammermeyer's other claims. A motion for summary judgment is granted where there is no factual dispute or where there is a "need to weigh the evidence at issue" and "the party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." In such cases, the court bases its ruling on the already accumulated and undisputed record, without hearing further oral argument.

Reviewing the documentation concerning Cammermeyer's service and discharge, as well as the precedent set by other courts with regard to the military and homosexuals, the court found that homosexuals were not, like members of a race, nationality, or religious group, a suspect class for equal protection purposes. Neither, District Judge Thomas Zilly wrote, were their equal protection claims subject to the heightened security accorded those who face discrimination based on gender. For a law that discriminates against homosexuals to survive an equal protection claim, Zilly wrote, it need only be found rationally related to a legitimate purpose.