Supreme Court Will Hear Case Challenging Affirmative Action
Today the Supreme Court announced they will once again hear a case challenging the constitutionality of Affirmative Action.
This particular case involves whether or not the University of Texas at Austin can consider race during the admissions process. The last time the Supreme Court heard a case challenging the policy was in 2003, regarding the admissions process at the University of Michigan Law School.
And proponents of Affirmative Action may have some cause to worry, as it is being reported that Elena Kagan, an Affirmative Action supporter, it likely to recuse herself from the case.
“In a sign that is likely to worry supporters of affirmative action (and to cheer critics of the practice), Justice Elena Kagan announced that she took no part in consideration of the appeal seeking a Supreme Court review — a likely sign that she will not take any part in the actual review. Kagan did not announce why, but conservative legal bloggers have been calling on her to recuse herself because of her work as U.S. solicitor general filing a brief in support of the University of Texas. If she continues to recuse herself, a justice thought to be supportive of affirmative action will not be voting.
The case before the Supreme Court now is over whether the University of Texas is exceeding the right granted by the 2003 decision. The plaintiffs argue that because Texas uses a statewide “10 percent” plan – in which students in the top 10 percent of their high school classes are automatically admitted to the public college of their choice – the state’s flagship university can achieve a diverse student body without race-based policies. (Many Texas high schools have enrollments that are overwhelmingly made up of members of particular racial or ethnic groups, so the plan provides a steady stream of black and Latino students to UT Austin.)
The university and other defenders of affirmative action argue that just because a university can achieve some diversity without the consideration of race and admissions does not mean that it may not also consider race and ethnicity to achieve a higher level of diversity”
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