Supreme Court to hear 2 affirmative action cases
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court announced Monday it will decide whether the use of race in the admissions process at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violates civil rights law and the Constitution, reviving a controversial legal debate over affirmative action that has been years in the making.
The decision to hear the two cases puts the contentious issue of whether universities may consider race when accepting students before the high court for the first time since 2016. Harvard acknowledges considering race in its admissions process but says it does so as one of several factors – an approach that is consistent with the current legal standard.
By accepting the blockbuster case, the justices are adding another polarizing debate to a docket already full of culture war issues. Much of the court’s current term has been defined by abortion fights in Texas and Mississippi, gun regulations in New York and COVID-19 related battles, including the decision this month to block the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-testing requirements on large employers.
The high court did not say when it will consider the affirmative action suits, but given the number of cases already queued up for argument this year, there’s a good chance the justices won’t take the matter up until its next term, which begins in October.
“The Supreme Court decision to review the unanimous decisions of the lower federal courts puts at risk 40 years of legal precedent granting colleges and universities the freedom and flexibility to create diverse campus communities,” Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow said. “Harvard will continue to defend vigorously its admissions practices.”
The court hit pause on the Harvard case in June, inviting the Biden administration to submit a brief even though the federal government is not a party to the lawsuit. As expected, the administration argued against hearing the case in paperwork filed in early December and urged the court to abide by its past affirmative action decisions.
The lawsuits were filed by an anti-affirmative action group called Students for Fair Admissions, the brainchild of conservative legal strategist Edward Blum. The group charged that Harvard University and the University of North Carolina discriminate against Asian American and white students in their admissions to boost Black and Hispanic enrollment.