The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the University of Texas’s race-based affirmative action admissions policies in a 7-1 decision in the Abigail Fisher v. University of Texas case. The Court remanded the case back to the appellate court for further consideration noting that strict scrutiny must be applied without deference to the University of Texas.
After being rejected in 2008, Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas arguing that its reintroduction of race in admissions in 2005 was unconstitutional because, among other reasons, the university had achieved racial and ethnic diversity through the race-neutral “Top 10 Percent Plan.” Her case was heard by the Court on Oct 10, 2012.
Abigail Fisher said, “I am grateful to the justices for moving the nation closer to the day when a student’s race isn’t used at all in college admissions.” Fisher concluded, “It has been a great privilege to witness how our legal system works to seek justice for an individual like me. The most important lesson I have learned during the last 5 years is to stick by your ideals even if it means some personal sacrifice.”
The Supreme Court found that the court should approve the use of race as a factor in admissions only after it concludes “that no workable race-neutral alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity.”
The university grants admission based primarily on high school class rank, without regard to race, to the top 8 percent of high school graduates. Race is a factor in filling out the rest of the incoming class with more than 8 in 10 African-American and Latino students automatically admitted.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he in a statement released Monday that he was “pleased that the Supreme Court ruling “preserves the well-established legal principle that colleges and universities have a compelling interest in achieving the educational benefits that flow from a racially and ethnically diverse student body, and can lawfully pursue that interest in their admissions programs. As the Court has repeatedly recognized, a diverse student enrollment promotes cross-racial understanding and dialogue, reduces racial isolation, and helps to break down stereotypes. This is critical for the future of our country because racially diverse educational environments help to prepare students to succeed in an increasingly diverse workforce and society.”
Justice Clarence Thomas said he would have overturned the Court’s 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger ruling in which it reaffirmed the constitutionality of affirmative action.
Edward Blum, who helped engineer Fisher’s challenge, said it is unlikely that the Texas plan and many other college plans can long survive. Blum, the director of The Project on Fair Representation who provided counsel to Ms. Fisher said, “This decision begins the restoration of the original colorblind principles to our nation’s civil rights laws. The Supreme Court has established exceptionally high hurdles for the Univ. of Texas and other universities and colleges to overcome if they intend to continue using race preferences in their admissions policies. It is unlikely that most institutions will be able to overcome these hurdles. This opinion will compel the Fifth Circuit to strike down UT’s current use of race and ethnicity.”
Blum concluded, “Abigail Fisher and thousands of past applicants have been unfairly denied admission to the University of Texas because of its unconstitutional use of affirmative action. It is deeply gratifying that the justices on both sides of the ideological divide recognized this and her case will be reconsidered by the lower court with a new and clear directive from the Supreme Court.”