Supreme court, thomas stands a reasonable chance of still being a member of the court in 25 years, the self imposed implosion date sunset provision established by. The university of michigan law school denied barbara grutters application to the school. Part of the education law stories, this book chapter tells the story behind grutter v. They thus look for academic ability as well potential to contribute to the learning of those around them. The two cases were filed in 1997 by white plaintiffs who alleged that the universitys use of race violated their constitutional right to equal protection. The use of an applicants race as one factor in an admissions policy of a public educational institution does not violate the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment if the policy is narrowly tailored to the compelling interest of promoting a diverse student body, and if it uses a holistic process to evaluate each applicant, as opposed to a quota system. Intergroup relations after affirmative action, 86 calif.
Bollinger 2003, the supreme court ruled that the use of affirmative action in school admission is constitutional if it treats race as one factor. Bollinger 2003barbara grutter, michigan resident and applicant to the law school at the university of michigan, filed an injunction against the university in 2007. Justice sandra day oconnor, writing for the majority in a 54 decision, ruled that the university of michigan law school had a compelling interest in. The two cases were filed in 1997 by white plaintiffs who alleged that the universitys use of race violated their constitutional right to equal protection of. Thats what is euphemistically called affirmative action in the. The petitioners in this case then asked the court to grant certiorari, despite the lack of opinion from the lower court, to resolve the issue. In a 63 decision announced on june 23, 2003, chief justice rehnquist, writing for the court, ruled the universitys point systems predetermined point allocations that awarded 20 points towards admission to.
The law school admits that it uses race as a factor in making admissions decisions because it serves a compelling interest in. The court made clear that affirmative action programs are only constitutional if they consider race as one factor in. They seek a student body that can successfully study and learn the law, as well as contribute to a mix of varying backgrounds. Bollinger was heard in the united states supreme court. Because of this ruling, the court also required that the verdict in the case of bakke v. The decision permitted the use of racial preference in student admissions to promote student diversity.
Connor of whether the use of race as a factor in student admissions by the university of michigan law school. A case in which the court held that the university of michigans practice of favoring applicants of certain races in the admissions process. Bollinger, a challenge to the university of michigan law schools affirmative action program, as recorded by the. Affirmative action wins wendy parker1 in 1996, at the age of fortythree, barbara grutter decided a career change was in order. Opinion of the court body diversity complied with this courts most recent ruling on the use of race in university. The admissions statistics show it to be a sham to cover a scheme of racially proportionate admissions. The university of michigan law school law school, one of the nations top law schools, follows an official admissions policy that seeks to achieve student body diversity through compliance with regents of univ.
The decision dissenting opinions chief justice reinquist believed that the law school was tailoring to a certain group of people and that they were practicing racial balancing, which shouldnt have been allowed. Mar 20, 2017 following is the case brief for grutter v. Bollinger presented the question, in the words of associate justice sandra day o. As to public education, data for the years 20002001 show that 71. On writ of certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the sixth circuit june 23, 2003 justice scalia, with whom justice thomas joins, concurring in part and dissenting in part. Case summary the united state supreme court case of grutter v. The university of michigan law school defendant receives more th. The 2 cases, grutter v bollinger and gratz v bollinger, have been brought against the university of michigans thenpresident lee bollinger by 2 white students, barbara grutter and jennifer gratz, who were denied admissions. Supreme courts admonition to seriously consider other options before using raceconscious admissions policies schmidt, 2008, p. The university of michigan law school denied barbara grutter s application to the school. Bollinger this affirmative action case involved a person applying for admission to the university of michigans law school. In the 1990s, public opinion and court opinions seemed to signal a death knell for affirmative action. Akron center for reproductive health alaska hire case alden v.
Justice sandra day oconnor, writing for the majority in a 54 decision, ruled that the university of michigan law school had a compelling interest in promoting class diversity. Legal scholars, media commentators, and laypeople alike eagerly awaited the release of the courts decision on whether the use of race in the admissions processes of institutions of higher education would be held. Diversity is a compelling interest that can justify the narrowly tailored use of race when public universities select applicants for admission. This june marks the 10th anniversary of the united states supreme courts decision in grutter v. The procedure automatically added 20 points onto the. Oconnor stevens, souter, ginsburg, breyer concurring. Bollinger was a case brought to the supreme court over the use of affirmative action in the college admissions process. Ap government supreme court cases quiz flashcards quizlet. Contributing to the growing legal literature on social movements and constitutional culture, this article uses the widespread public mobilization that occurred around grutter v. Ms grutter and ms gratz allege that the university gives unlawful preference based on race when considering students for. The two cases were filed in 1997 by white plaintiffs who alleged that the universitys use of race violated their constitutional right to equal protection of the laws. Two caucasians challenged the university of michigans admissions policy after being denied entry into the undergraduate program, claiming the procedure violated the 14th amendments equal protection clause. It is not intended to constitute legal advice nor does. Bollinger were among the most anticipated rulings in recent history.
Bollinger opinion of the court body diversity complied with this courts most recent ruling on the use of race in university admissions. The united states supreme court was announced the extremely tight decision of. A landmark case the grutter case affirmed and refined the supreme courts position on affirmative action a quarter century after its initial decision in regents of university of california v. He believes that it is appropriate for an applicants race to be considered because the law school seeks a student body with diverse backgrounds and. Start studying ap government supreme court cases quiz. The lower court concluded that the prospectiverelief claim based. Bollinger, clarence thomas, affirmative action and. While interlocutory appeals were pending in the sixth circuit, that court issued an opinion in grutter v. Bollinger, a similar case, and upheld the universitys admission policies in that case. She applied to a nearby law school, the university of michigan law school, with the hopes of becoming a health care attorney.
University of texas at austin, the supreme court vacated and remanded an appeals court decision that had rejected a challenge to an affirmative action program modeled on the one approved in gratz, finding that the lower. Syllabus opinion oconnor concurrence ginsburg dissent rehnquist dissent kennedy other opinion of scalia other opinion of thomas html version pdf version. The university of michigan law school denied acceptance to. Syllabus guidelines for those seeking admission to the lsa. This court granted certiorari in both cases, even though the sixth circuit had not yet rendered judgment in this one. The law schools interest is not simply to assure within its student body some specified percentage of a particular group merely because of its race or ethnic origin. Also, the program adequately ensures that all factors. Bollinger, a case decided by the united states supreme court on june 23, 2003, upheld the affirmative action admissions policy of the university of michigan law school. President bollinger sought to ensure that the policy complied with the supreme courts ruling in regents of the univ.
California, grutter claimed that the university of michigan violated her 14th amendment rights. In 1997, barbara grutter, a white resident of michigan, applied for admission to the university of michigan law school. Bollinger, 2003majority opinion 54 the law school seeks to enroll a critical mass of minority students. This material is provided for informational purposes only. Supreme court expressed, through justice sandra day oconnor, that achieving the educational benefits that come from a diverse student body was a enough of a compelling interest to authenticate taking race into consideration in making admissions decisions to higher education. Bollinger, united states supreme court, 2003 case summary for gratz v. He also thought that their wish for diversity was just an excuse. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Bollinger, 539 us 244 supreme court 2003 ninth circuit. Argued april 1, 2003decided june 23, 2003 the university of michigan law school law school, one of the nations top law schools, follows an of. The court held that a student admissions process that favors underrepresented minority groups does not violate the fourteenth amendments equal protection clause so long as it takes into account other factors evaluated on an individual. Following is a transcript of arguments before the supreme court in grutter v. Upon the unanimous adoption of the committees report by the law school faculty, it became the law schools official admissions. Bollinger, challenged the affirmative action admissions practices of the university of michigans law school and undergraduate programs, respectively. Bollinger, though it ruled that race could not be the preeminent factor in such decisions as it struck down the universitys undergraduate admissions policy that awarded points to students on the basis of race gratz v. In reversing, the court of appeals held that justice powells opinion in regents of the university of california v. Michigan law school case implementation of the critical massharvard plan. Bollinger is a united states supreme court case regarding the university of michigan law schools affirmative action admissions policy. Bollinger, which upheld the use of affirmative action by the university of michigan law school.
The united states supreme court ruled in favor of the university of michigan. A white woman, she had graduated from michigan state. Grutter, a white michigan resident, then sued the law school. Bollinger racism, at its modernday worst grutter v. Grutter claimed that the law schools use of affirmative action in its admissions policy violated her equal. Bollinger, we look back at president fords defense of affirmative action in higher education.
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