Cert grant sends university affirmative action case back to the Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to once again consider the use of race in admissions by the University of Texas at Austin.
The court granted cert on Monday in the challenge to the Texas admissions program by plaintiff Amy Fisher, report SCOTUSblog and the New York Times. Justice Elena Kagan did not participate in the decision to grant cert.
In June 2013, the Supreme Court said a federal appeals court was wrong to grant summary judgment to the university and gave Fisher a chance to prove her case. Fisher, who is white, claims her rejection by the university violated her right to equal protection.
On remand, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the admissions plan, which determines the bulk of admissions by high-school class rank. The remaining spots however, are filled based on a personal achievement score that includes race as a factor.
The cert petition (PDF) contends the 5th Circuit failed to apply traditional strict scrutiny in evaluating the admissions program. “Essentially ignoring the court’s admonition to hold UT to the demanding burden articulated in its equal protection clause precedent, the 5th Circuit approved UT’s program under what amounts to a rational-basis analysis,” the cert petition says.
According to SCOTUSblog, the cert grant “signaled uncertainty and maybe discontent” with the 5th Circuit decision. The blog says there appears to be no direct threat to the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger decision, which allowed some use of race in admissions. “But that precedent may be at least reinterpreted, and possibly narrowed,” the blog says.
The case is Fisher v. University of Texas. The SCOTUSblog case page is here.
