Military recruiters banned

Harvard Law School will once again ban military recruiters because of the Pentagon's policy on gays in the military, the school's dean announced yesterday, the day after a federal appeals court blocked enforcement of the federal law that forced schools to allow the visits.

"This return to our prior policy will allow [the Office of Career Services] to enforce the law school's policy of nondiscrimination without exception, including to the military services," the dean, Elena Kagan, wrote in a brief statement late yesterday. "I am gratified by this result, and I look forward to the time when all law students will have the opportunity to pursue any legal career they desire."

Harvard had long barred military recruiters from formal campus visits because the Pentagon's ban on gays violated the school's nondiscrimination policies. Like many other law schools nationwide, Harvard was forced to allow the recruiter visits two years ago, when the government invoked a law known as the Solomon Amendment and threatened to cut the university's federal funding.

Harvard became the first major law school to reinstate its ban. Leaders at most of the law schools reached yesterday said they have no immediate plans to change their policies.

At Boston College, Boston University, and Columbia University, officials said they were reviewing the 100-page decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, and considering their next steps. Most said recruiters are not due back at their campuses until the fall, giving the schools time to watch the government's response to the ruling.

Kent Greenfield, a BC law professor who organized the lawsuit against the Department of Defense that led to Monday's ruling, said the next moves made by law schools will show how committed they are to their nondiscrimination policies. The policies, which protect against bias based on sexual orientation as well as race and gender, are required by the group that accredits law schools, a fact that made law schools the key battleground in the standoff over military recruiting, though the law applied to all universities.

Though military recruiters were officially banned, they were allowed on many campuses through invitations by student groups, such as the Harvard Law School Veterans Association.

Yesterday, law school officials said uncertainty still surrounds the decision. Greenfield said the injunction applies nationwide because the defendant is the federal government, but others questioned how broadly a circuit court ruling may be applied. And legal specialists described several potential developments that could delay a final resolution for months or years: The government could seek a hearing by the full circuit court, instead of a three-judge panel, or it could ask the Supreme Court to consider the matter.

A call to the Justice Department was not immediately returned yesterday. A lawyer representing the law schools in the case, E. Joshua Rosenkranz, said the government has 45 days to request a hearing by the full circuit court.

Jenna Russell can be reached at jrussell@globe.com.