On January 21, 2003 the nation's highest court, the Supreme Court, agreed to hear a case on the University of Michigan’s admissions criteria. Arguments will begin on April 1st of this year. The Court will be rendering in Grutter v. Bollinger, an affirmative action case against the University of Michigan Law School; and Gratz v. Bollinger, an affirmative action case regarding undergraduate admissions at the University of Michigan. There hasn’t been a case of this magnitude concerning race based admittance standards since Hopwood v. University of Texas Law School. Hopwood rejected the legitimacy of diversity as a goal, asserting that "educational diversity is not recognized as a compelling state interest." Thus, the case overturned Regents of the University of California v. Bakke making not only racial quotas to be unconstitutional but also the suggestion to make a more diverse academic environment was not recognized by the law either. At the end of Hopwood, the future of affirmative action looked rather grim and overcoming these sets of judicial obstacles would take precision around the enacted conditions.
Such inherent disposition towards affirmative action has been seen throughout the course of the latter 20th century. Why all of a sudden is affirmative action being revisited again in the Court? As it stands now, you cannot use affirmative action in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi; but you can use it in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The reason for this mishap of sorts is due to the fact that Hopwood was decided under the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which only covers those states mentioned above. In the upcoming litigation, the Supreme Court will review the University of Michigan cases in order to finally set a national precedent on affirmative action. As of late, there has been a lack of unanimity throughout the nation concerning admissions standards in higher education. Through the Court’s judicial power, they hope to determine a “just” decision on the matter. A look into various programs enacted after the previous Court rulings will be examined in the upcoming posts.
Such inherent disposition towards affirmative action has been seen throughout the course of the latter 20th century. Why all of a sudden is affirmative action being revisited again in the Court? As it stands now, you cannot use affirmative action in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi; but you can use it in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The reason for this mishap of sorts is due to the fact that Hopwood was decided under the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which only covers those states mentioned above. In the upcoming litigation, the Supreme Court will review the University of Michigan cases in order to finally set a national precedent on affirmative action. As of late, there has been a lack of unanimity throughout the nation concerning admissions standards in higher education. Through the Court’s judicial power, they hope to determine a “just” decision on the matter. A look into various programs enacted after the previous Court rulings will be examined in the upcoming posts.
posted by opalescence at
11:33 PM
