UNTIL last week, Justice Anthony Kennedy, a 28-year veteran on the Supreme Court bench, had never voted to uphold a race-based affirmative action policy. But on June 23rd, he did just that, writing an opinion that disappointed the supporters of Abigail Fisher (pictured), a white woman who felt she was the victim of discrimination when the University of Texas (UT) rejected her application for a place at its flagship campus in 2008. For years, Ms Fisher’s case bobbed up and down the federal courts, with two visits to the 5th circuit court of appeals and two more to the Supreme Court. Last week, her legal saga finally came to an end when the justices voted 5-3 to uphold UT’s admissions scheme and to reaffirm a principle it established nearly four decades ago: public universities in America may give limited consideration to race when admitting their student bodies.
The admissions scheme at issue in this case is complex, and, as Mr Kennedy writes, “sui generis”. For nearly two decades, UT has filled some 75% of its seats with Texas public-high-school students who finished in the top 10% of their graduating classes. This...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/291ZMU9
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