SCOTUS Upholds UMs AA

[chequita guevara]

*and chegitz wonders if he used the most abreviations in one title ever.

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Court Upholds Mich. Affirmative Action


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Jun 23, 10:20 AM (ET)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a university law school admissions policy that gives minorities an edge, ruling that race can be one of many factors that colleges consider when selecting their students.

The ruling in the law-school case preserves the concept of affirmative action for minorities who might otherwise be underrepresented on top campuses, but makes clear that racial preferences must be used sparingly.

The 5-4 ruling endorsed a program at the University of Michigan law school meant to ensure a "critical mass" of minorities on campus. The program is not an illegal quota, the high court said.

A companion ruling testing the constitutionality of another, more overtly preferential affirmative action program for minority applicants was also expected Monday.

[DinoDoc]

And then they decided to confuse everyone by striking down the undergrad portion of the case.

[*End Is Forever*]

So the Supreme Court has decided that racism is legal after all. Wonderful.

[Asher]

Che, you do realize this allows them to deny admission based on race as well...

[Zkribbler]

I am surprised. If they'd wanted the appellate court's ruling to be the law of the land, there was no need for the Supremes to review it. I'll be looking forward the reading the ruling.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
I am surprised. If they'd wanted the appellate court's ruling to be the law of the land, there was no need for the Supremes to review it.

They probably wanted to nationalize it.

[chequita guevara]

June 23, 2003 | WASHINGTON (AP) -- In two split decisions, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that minority applicants may be given an edge when applying for admissions to universities, but limited how much a factor race can play in the selection of students.

The high court struck down a point system used by the University of Michigan, but did not go as far as opponents of affirmative action had wanted. The court approved a separate program used at the University of Michigan law school that gives race less prominence in the admissions decision-making process.

The court divided in both cases. It upheld the law school program that sought a "critical mass" of minorities by a 5-4 vote, with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor siding with the court's more liberal justices to decide the case.

The court split 6-3 in finding the undergraduate program unconstitutional. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the majority opinion in the undergraduate case, joined by O'Connor and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer.

Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented.

Michigan's undergraduate admissions structure is tantamount to a quota, the majority in that case concluded. While it set no fixed target for the number of minority students who should get in, the point-based evaluation system gave minority applicants a 20-point boost.

Government has a compelling interest in promoting racial diversity on campus, but the undergraduate school's admissions policy is not the way to get there, the court majority said.

The ruling affects tax-supported schools, and by extension private schools and other institutions, that have looked for ways to boost minority enrollment without violating the Constitution's guarantee against discrimination.

The University of Michigan cases are the most significant test of affirmative action to reach the court in a generation. At issue was whether racial preference programs unconstitutionally discriminate against white students.

[chequita guevara]

So what the hell does this decision mean?

[Jac de Molay]

The court divided in both cases. It upheld the law school program that sought a "critical mass" of minorities by a 5-4 vote, with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor siding with the court's more liberal justices to decide the case.

I still don't understand how that's not a quota. The only difference is they decide on a semester-by-semester basis how many minorities to accept to reach critical mass.

[Stefu]

ITYTTHTMA.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
So what the hell does this decision mean?

That they felt like restating Bakke rather than clearing up the waters they muddied earlier.

[GePap]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
So what the hell does this decision mean?

That race diversity is a compelling interest, but that the schools must find a way to meet it without grealty "disadvanteging" others.

[Caligastia]

I'm disappointed. I was really hoping for an end to AA. The racists win.

[GePap]

*must hold tounge when Cali makes a comment about someone being a racist........must do it...m..u..s..t..

[PLATO]

I dream of a day when a man will be judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin