Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Abstract
Sometime in the next six weeks the Supreme Court will likely reveal its decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFAI) v. President and Fellows of Harvard and SFAI v. University of North Carolina. Court watchers are almost unanimous that the Supreme Court majority will:
- read the 14 amendment as barring the use of racial preferences by public colleges and universities and
- interpret Section VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as similarly restricting race conscious admissions at any school receiving federal funds.
To achieve these outcomes a conservative majority will have to reject 40 years of a twice reaffirmed precedent as well as the likely intent of the framers of the 14 Amendment and of the Congress that enacted the Civil Rights Act. Given the leanings of six of the nine Supreme Court Justices and their prior rulings on race-related issues, neither of these jurisprudential principles is likely to matter.
Recommended Citation
Lempert, Richard O. "The Supreme Court is poised to reverse affirmative action: Here’s what you need to know." Brookings (2023).
Included in
Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Education Law Commons, Fourteenth Amendment Commons
Comments
Copyright 2023 Brookings Institute. Reproduced with permission