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Keywords

lawsuitsummary judgmentdiscriminationcivil rights

liabilitysummary judgmentcivil rightsrespondent

Related Cases

Gratz v. Bollinger

Facts

Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, both Caucasian, applied for admission to the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Gratz was notified that her admission decision was delayed and ultimately denied, while Hamacher's application was also denied. They filed a class-action lawsuit against the university, alleging racial discrimination in the admissions process, which favored underrepresented minority applicants through a point system that awarded additional points based on race.

Petitioners Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher both applied for admission to the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts as residents of the State of Michigan. Both petitioners are Caucasian. Gratz, who applied for admission for the fall of 1995, was notified in January of that year that a final decision regarding her admission had been delayed until April. Hamacher applied for admission to the LSA for the fall of 1997. A final decision as to his application was also postponed because, though his 'academic credentials [were] in the qualified range, they [were] not at the level needed for first review admission.'

Issue

Does the University of Michigan's use of racial preferences in undergraduate admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or 42 U.S.C. 1981?

Rule

The Court held that the admissions policy was not narrowly tailored to achieve the university's asserted compelling interest in diversity, thus violating the Equal Protection Clause.

Because we find that the manner in which the University considers the race of applicants in its undergraduate admissions guidelines violates these constitutional and statutory provisions, we reverse that portion of the District Court's decision upholding the guidelines.

Analysis

The Court determined that the admissions policy made race the decisive factor for virtually every minimally qualified underrepresented minority applicant. It concluded that the policy was not narrowly tailored because it did not provide for individualized consideration of applicants, which is required under the Equal Protection Clause.

The Court found that the policy made race the decisive factor for virtually every minimally qualified underrepresented minority applicant.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court reversed the district court's decision that had granted summary judgment in favor of the university, holding that the admissions policy violated the Equal Protection Clause.

The Court reversed that portion of the district court's decision granting respondents summary judgment with respect to liability and remanded the case for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Who won?

The petitioners, Gratz and Hamacher, prevailed because the Court found that the university's admissions policy was unconstitutional.

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