Supreme Court Declines to Hear Genocide Case

The case was initially dismissed in June 2009, three years after a judge first heard the motion. A three- judge panel upheld the motion last August.

In the opinion that upheld the dismissal, former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, now serving at the First Circuit Court of Appeals, noted Silverglate’s contention that the guide amounted to a “virtual school library” and that it was an element of the overall curriculum had differing ramifications for his argument, since the latter is allowed to be controlled by politics.

“The revisions to the Guide after its submission to legislative officials, even if made in response to political pressure, did not implicate the First Amendment,” Souter wrote.

Marc Mamigonian, director of academic affairs at NAASR, said the eventual outcome for this case was expected, but that the door is still open for similar challenges.

“In my opinion, the US Supreme Court’s denial of writ of certiorari following two strong rejections by lower courts shows that the case was as lacking in legal merit as the Genocide denial it supported lacks scholarly merit,” Mamigonian said. “However, one must not think this is the last that will be heard from those who try to legitimize Genocide denial.”

Armenian Assembly of America Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, sent a written statement. “The United States Supreme Court decision upholding the United States Court of Appeals decision in the Griswold case comes upon the heels of the Movsesian decision in California’s Ninth Circuit and another victory for ensuring that the truth prevails. The Assembly worked with the Armenian Bar Association (ABA) in the ABA’s amicus brief with respect to the Movsesian case. The court in Movsesian concluded that there is no express federal policy forbidding states to use the term Armenian ‘Genocide.’”