October, 2022: Editors File Friend of the Court Briefs in Harvard and North Carolina Cases
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Affirmative Action Debate 