The Editors of this website have filed two Briefs Amici Curiae (“Friend of the Court”) in the cases now pending involving Harvard College (No. 20-1199) and the University of North Carolina (No. 21-707). The first, by Professor Richard Sander (link), filed in support of the Petitioner (Students for Fair Representation), summarizes its argument as … Continue reading October, 2022: Editors File Friend of the Court Briefs in Harvard and North Carolina Cases
On Affirmative Action, What Once Seemed Unthinkable Might Become Real
Linda Greenhouse New York Times, October 28, 2022 As affirmative action prepares to meet its fate before a transformed Supreme Court, after having been deemed constitutional in higher education for more than four decades, the cases to be argued on Monday bring into sharp focus a stunning reality. After all this time, after the civil … Continue reading On Affirmative Action, What Once Seemed Unthinkable Might Become Real
October, 2022: Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments in Two Pending Cases
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the two cases now pending before it involving, respectively, the University of North Carolina and Harvard College. These will take place on Monday, October 31, 2022, starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. First up will be Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFFA) v. University of … Continue reading October, 2022: Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments in Two Pending Cases
“Ain’t Dead Yet”: Affirmative Action in Academia
Ever since the Supreme Court announced on January 24th that it would review appellate court decisions upholding the use of race in admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, there have been a bevy of pronouncements on what the Court’s opinion would mean. One side bemoaned what they believed would be the death … Continue reading “Ain’t Dead Yet”: Affirmative Action in Academia
March, 2022: Test-Optional Admissions Movement Expands
One recurring theme in the debate about affirmative action and preferences has been the dispute about the role that standardized tests should play in the admissions process. If, as many believe, assessments of “merit” should shape these decisions, does the American College Testing (ACT) standardized test of English, mathematics, reading, and scientific reasoning provide an … Continue reading March, 2022: Test-Optional Admissions Movement Expands
February, 2022: Court Strikes Down Virginia K-12 Admissions Policy
The federal district court judge hearing the case challenging a K-12 admissions policy adopted by the Board of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology (TJ) in Fairfax County, Virginia has now ruled against the school. In a Memorandum Opinion filed on February 25, 2022, District Judge Claude M. Hilton concluded that the … Continue reading February, 2022: Court Strikes Down Virginia K-12 Admissions Policy
February, 2022: American Bar Association Revises Accreditation Standards
On February 14, 2022 the House of Delegates (HOD) of the American Bar Association (ABA) approved a series of changes in its Standards for Approval of Law Schools (ABA Standards). Both the standards and the changes that were promulgated are significant. It is an almost universal requirement that an individual wishing to sit for the … Continue reading February, 2022: American Bar Association Revises Accreditation Standards
It is often observed that we are living in a polarized era, where advocates on controversial issues often talk past one another rather than working through to the nub of their disagreements. This is certainly a problem in America’s argument over affirmative action and is one of the motivations for creating this website. In this … Continue reading
The affirmative-action trap. We need to talk about how racial preferences produce counter-productive results.
Richard Sander New York Daily News, January 30, 2022 Monday, the Supreme Court announced that in the 2022-23 term it will hear challenges to the use of race in college admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The court has thus decided to wade into another highly controversial question — like abortion and … Continue reading The affirmative-action trap. We need to talk about how racial preferences produce counter-productive results.
February, 2022: Briefing Schedule Set in Consolidated Harvard and North Carolina Cases
The Supreme Court has approved the briefing schedule in the consolidated affirmative action cases involving Harvard College and the University of North Carolina. As previously noted, there are two cases before the Court: Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, No. 20-1199, and SFFA v. The University of North Carolina, … Continue reading February, 2022: Briefing Schedule Set in Consolidated Harvard and North Carolina Cases
January, 2022: Supreme Court to Hear Harvard and North Carolina Cases
The Supreme Court announced on Monday, January 24, 2022 that it would hear the cases challenging the use of admissions preferences by Harvard College and the University of North Carolina (UNC) (respectively, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, No. 20-1199, and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North … Continue reading January, 2022: Supreme Court to Hear Harvard and North Carolina Cases
December, 2021: Solicitor General Files Brief for the United States in SFFA v. Harvard
On June 14, 2021, the Supreme Court “invited” the then-Acting Solicitor General of the United States (SG), Elizabeth B. Prologar, “to file a brief expressing the views of the United States” in the Harvard College litigation. The invitation presumably reflected the Court’s understanding that with the transition from President Trump to President Biden the views … Continue reading December, 2021: Solicitor General Files Brief for the United States in SFFA v. Harvard
October, 2021: University of North Carolina District Court Decision
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) sued the University of North Carolina (UNC) on November 7, 2014, mounting a challenge to UNC’s use of race-based admissions preferences. The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina and assigned to District Judge Loretta C. Biggs, who entered her Trial … Continue reading October, 2021: University of North Carolina District Court Decision
June, 2021: Economic Relief Preferences Enjoined
A number of the economic relief programs recently enacted by Congress have included provisions granting special treatment or preferences on the basis of group identity. The American Rescue Plan of 2021, for example, included two such programs. One, a part of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, gave priority to restaurants that are at least 51% owned and controlled … Continue reading June, 2021: Economic Relief Preferences Enjoined
June, 2021: Justices ask for SG input on Harvard Case
On June 14th, the Supreme Court announced that it has asked the Solicitor General to submit its opinion on the merits of granting certiorari to SFFA v. Harvard. Among other things, this means the Court is unlikely to decide the question of granting cert until late summer or early fall. The petition asking for review … Continue reading June, 2021: Justices ask for SG input on Harvard Case
May, 2021: Colorado Bans Legacy Admissions at Public Universities
On May 25th, Colorado Governor Jared Polls signed into law a measure that forbids public colleges and universities in that state from considering “familial relationships” as part of the admissions process. Citing “significant racial and socioeconomic disparities among students who enroll in [Colorado] higher education institutions,” the measure characterizes “Legacy Preferences” as “inequitable” and “discriminatory … Continue reading May, 2021: Colorado Bans Legacy Admissions at Public Universities
May, 2021: Harvard Case Pending Before Supreme Court
The first of the three cases currently challenging the use of preferences in college and university admissions is now pending before the Supreme Court. Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a private advocacy organization, filed its initial complaint against Harvard College in November, 2014. It alleged that Harvard intentionally discriminated against Asian American applicants, engaging in … Continue reading May, 2021: Harvard Case Pending Before Supreme Court
The “Harvard” Suit
Students for Fair Admissions (“SFFA”) vs. President and Fellows of Harvard College (“Harvard”) SFFA filed suit against Harvard in November 2014. Its complaint alleged that Harvard violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in four ways: (1) By discriminating against Asian-American applicants, (2) By engaging in “racial balancing” in its admissions process, (3) … Continue reading The “Harvard” Suit
May, 2021: Boston K-12 Diversity Case
As matters currently stand, the Supreme Court has refused to extend the diversity rationale approved in Bakke v. The Regents of the University of California (1978) and Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) to allow the use of race as an admissions criterion in K-12 education. Only one such case has reached it, Parents Involved in Community … Continue reading May, 2021: Boston K-12 Diversity Case
Are Preferences Disappearing?
Throughout the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on racial preferences in higher education, a dominant theme has been the Court’s view that preferences should be temporary. In Bakke, even the strongly pro-preference Justice Blackmun suggested that preferences should only last a short period – perhaps a decade. In her opinion for the Court in Grutter, Justice O’Connor … Continue reading Are Preferences Disappearing?
April, 2021: Yale University Litigation
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint against Yale University on October 8, 2020. Its closely tracked those made against Harvard College by a private advocacy group, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA). That is, DOJ maintained that Yale discriminated against Asian American and white applicants in its undergraduate admissions program, engaging in … Continue reading April, 2021: Yale University Litigation
March, 2021: Lawsuit Filed Contesting K-12 Admission Practices
The Plaintiff Coalition for TJ (Coalition), a group of “concerned parents who reside in and around Fairfax County” Virginia, has challenged a change in the admissions policies used to gain admission to “the nationally-ranked Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.” In a complaint filed on March 10, 2021, the Coalition alleges that the … Continue reading March, 2021: Lawsuit Filed Contesting K-12 Admission Practices
February 2021: Plaintiffs in SFFA v. Harvard seek certiorari from Supreme Court
The first of the three cases currently challenging the use of preferences in college and university admissions is now pending before the Supreme Court. Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a private advocacy organization, filed its initial complaint against Harvard College in November, 2014. It alleged that Harvard intentionally discriminated against Asian American applicants, engaging in … Continue reading February 2021: Plaintiffs in SFFA v. Harvard seek certiorari from Supreme Court
February 2021: SFFA sues Yale University
In the waning months of the Trump Administration, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint against Yale University. The allegations in the complaint closely tracked those made against Harvard College by a private advocacy group, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA). That is, DOJ maintained that Yale discriminated against Asian American and white … Continue reading February 2021: SFFA sues Yale University
Affirmative Action Debate 