Diversity Issues: Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Affirmative Action Case

October 16, 2013 — The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in Schuette v. Coalition, a case that will likely determine the fate of affirmative action nationwide. As expected, the questioning during the hearing suggests that justices will align along the usual ideological lines. Justice Kennedy — often a swing voter between the conservative and liberal sides of the court — offers the best hope for affirmative action proponents. If he were to side with the challengers to Michigan’s Proposal 2 (which, like California Proposition 209, bans the use of racial preferences in public institutions), then a likely 4-4 vote (since Justice Kagan recused herself from the case) would uphold a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision earlier this year that found Proposal 2 unconstitutional. If the 6th Circuit decision is upheld, then challenges to Proposition 209 would be back in play.

Click HERE for the Los Angeles Times article on the hearing. Click HERE for the complete transcripts of the session.

October 14, 2013 — The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on October 15 in a case that will likely determine the fate of affirmative action nationally — and closer to home, the fate of California Proposition 209. Proposition 209,  a ballot initiative passed in 1996, banned the use of racial preferences in California’s public institutions. As Bunche Center research has documented, the ban has exasperated existing racial inequalities in the state by limiting underrepresented minority access to the University of California’s top campuses.

Click HERE for the Los Angeles Times story, which references briefs (like the Bunche Center’s) filed in support of challenges to the ban.

Click HERE for the Los Angeles Times editorial, which argues for undoing voter initiated bans at the polling place instead of in court.