Case 5-3
Barbara Grutter, a white Michigan resident with a 3.8 GPA and 161 LSAT score, was rejected by the University of Michigan Law School. She filed suit in December 1997, alleging that the university had discriminated against her on the basis of race in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She said she was rejected because the Law School used race as the "predominant" factor, giving applicants belonging to underrepresented minority groups (African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans) a significantly greater chance of admission than students with similar credentials from Whites and Asian Americans, and that the university had no compelling interest to justify that use of race.
The named defendant in the case was Lee Bollinger, the president of the university, who fought for the university's status quo, which was to give minorities an advantage, with the purpose of achieving "diversity" in the student body.
In the lower courts
In March 2001, U.S. District Court Judge Bernard A. Friedman ruled that the admissions policies were unconstitutional because they "clearly consider" race and are "practically indistinguishable from a quota system."
In May 2002, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision, citing the Bakke decision and allowing the use of race to further the "compelling interest" of diversity. The case was subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court agreed to hear the case, the first time the Court had heard cases on affirmative action since the landmark Bakke decision of 25 years prior.
1. You are a U.S. Supreme Court Justice- Would you agree with Bernard Friedman, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals or do you have a differing opinion?
Has the time to outlaw all affirmative action come