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THE MUSINGS OF A TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN DEMOCRAT

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Location: Douglas, Coffee Co., The Other Georgia, United States

Sid in his law office where he sits when meeting with clients. Observant eyes will notice the statuette of one of Sid's favorite Democrats.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Supreme Court Decisions Involving Affirmative Action: A Timeline

From The Wall Street Journal:

The Supreme Court ruling Tuesday upholding Michigan's ban on affirmative action represents the latest in a line of decisions addressing policies that take race into account. Here is a timeline of the high court's affirmative-action rulings, beginning with Tuesday's.
 
Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2014): The high court, in a 6-2 decision, upheld a Michigan voter initiative that banned affirmative action in public education and in state employment and contracting. It didn't re-examine the constitutionality of affirmative action, but six justices agreed that states may end racial preferences without violating the U.S. Constitution.
 
Fisher v. University of Texas (2013): The Supreme Court sidestepped a sweeping ruling on affirmative action in a 7-1 decision, directing lower courts to re-examine whether a race-conscious admissions program at the University of Texas at Austin should survive constitutional scrutiny. The upshot: the court seemed to ask the lower courts to scrutinize more closely admissions formulas that include race.
 
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003):The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down a system used by the University of Michigan's undergraduate program that assigned points for minority status because it made race a decisive factor in admissions, rather than just one of many.
 
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003): The high court approved a University of Michigan Law School system that gave minority applicants an edge in the admissions decision-making process. Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the 5-4 majority, said that the Constitution "does not prohibit the law school's narrowly tailored use of race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body."
 
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978): The high court, in a 5-4 ruling, struck down the use of racial quotas in the admission policy of the University of California at Davis's medical school. But the court ruled that the goal of achieving a diverse student body was sufficiently compelling to justify consideration of race in admissions decisions in some circumstances.

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