Reaffirming Diversity: A Legal Analysis of the University of Michigan Affirmative Action Cases: A Joint Statement of Constitutional Law Scholars—July 2003

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In Grutter v. Bollinger, 123 S. Ct. 2325 (2003), and Gratz v. Bollinger, 123 S. Ct. 2411 (2003), the Supreme Court established constitutional boundaries for race-conscious admissions policy in higher education. In Grutter the Court upheld the constitutionality of a race-conscious admission policy designed to promote diversity in higher education. However, in Gratz the Court struck down an undergraduate point system that automatically assigned a fixed number of points for underrepresented minority group members as not narrowly tailored to advance an interest in diversity. These opinions have implications inside and outside higher education, including K-12 education, as well as on the constitutional assessment of affirmative action programs.

By Erwin Chemerinsky, Drew Days III, Richard Fallon, Pamela S. Karlan, Kenneth L. Karst, Frank Michelman, Eric Schnapper, Laurence H. Tribe, Mark Tushnet, Angelo N. Ancheta, and Christopher F. Edley Jr. From March - April 2004