The Supreme Court's past affirmative action rulings have profoundly impacted the legal industry. The past rulings, notably in cases such as Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), Grutter v. Bollinger (2003),...more
On October 31, the Supreme Court heard the much-anticipated oral arguments in the cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC),...more
On September 30, 2019, the District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued its long-awaited opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, _ F. Supp. 3d. _, 2019 WL 4786210,...more
A few weeks ago, the United States District Court of Massachusetts issued its long-awaited decision in the lawsuit brought by Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (“SFFA”) against Harvard University (“Harvard”). In a 130-page...more
On September 30, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts found in favor of Harvard College in a lawsuit challenging its consideration of race in undergraduate admissions. In Students for Fair Admission, Inc....more
On May 16, 2019, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), an anti-affirmative action group, filed yet another lawsuit against the University of Texas at Austin (the University). This is the third such suit SFFA has filed against...more
Looks like the Department of Education has been busy again this month at the paper shredder. As part of the current administration’s ongoing efforts to eradicate Obama-era guidance that it deems “unnecessary, outdated,...more
According to published reports, the Trump administration appears poised to direct the Department of Justice to begin investigating, and potentially litigating against, institutions over what it characterizes as “intentional...more
Many employers who have read about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action decision are wondering what impact, if any, the ruling will have on them. After all, the main issue in that case was the propriety of a...more
On June 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court held for the second time that race may be taken into account when public universities and colleges admit students. In a 4-3 decision (Justice Kagan recused herself based on her prior...more
Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the use of race as a “factor of a factor of a factor” in the University of Texas’s admissions program, institutions can glean some guidance from the decision to create and administer...more
On June 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the University of Texas at Austin’s use of race in its admissions policies and procedures by rendering a decision in the second case brought by Abigail Fisher, a white woman who...more
On June 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion for the second time in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, (Fisher II), a case that directly questioned whether race can be considered at all in college...more
In a 4-3 decision on Thursday, June 23, 2016, the United States Supreme Court upheld the University of Texas’s (UT) race-conscious admissions program. The decision addressed only UT’s specific admissions policy in effect...more
On June 23, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the race-conscious admission program that a public university used for undergraduate admissions was lawful under the Equal Protection Clause of the...more
On June 23, 2016, in its second trip to the United States Supreme Court, the High Court ruled in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, et al. No. 14-981 (June 23, 2016) that the University of Texas’ (“UT”) race-conscious...more
On June 23, 2016, in its second time hearing Fisher v. University of Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the affirmative action admissions program at the University of Texas at Austin. The Court held that the program is...more
The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge under the Equal Protection Clause to the University of Texas at Austin’s race-conscious admissions program in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (“Fisher II”). This...more
The U.S. Supreme Court today affirmed the University of Texas at Austin's admissions program, which permits consideration of an applicant’s race as one of a number of factors in admissions decisions. Justice Kennedy authored...more
In a much-anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the University of Texas at Austin's race-conscious undergraduate admissions policy. That policy applies to roughly 25 percent of the incoming class. The other 75...more
Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice issued a joint “Dear Colleague Letter” addressing the impact of Fisher v. University of Texas, the recent Supreme Court decision involving the use...more
In an Opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy for a 7-1 majority, the United States Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, et al., allowed public colleges and universities to retain their affirmative...more
The big news this week in education is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 7-1 decision in Fisher v. University of Texas. In Fisher, the Court held that the lower court should not have taken at face value the University’s claim that it...more
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in the affirmative action case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. In a 7-1 decision (Justice Kagan recused herself because she had previously worked on...more
Justice Kennedy, in an opinion joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Scalia, Thomas, Breyer, and Sotomayor, wrote that public universities’ race-conscious admissions policies are constitutionally permissible and...more