The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

The University of Michigan Cases: Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger

On June 23, 2003, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the use of equal opportunity policies. Prior to the decision, several organizations and individuals filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of equal opportunity. Since the decision, many reports assessing equal opportunity in higher education have been published.

Fact Sheets

• The U.S. Supreme Court's Decisions in the University of Michigan Cases - Americans for a Fair Chance
• Supreme Court Rules on Affirmative Action (pdf) - Education Commission of the States

Court Decisions

• Grutter v. Bollinger et al. - The official U.S. Supreme Court decision of Grutter v. Bollinger, in which the Supreme Court reaffirmed that universities may take race into consideration as one factor among many factors when selecting incoming students.
• Gratz v. Bollinger et al. - The U.S. Supreme Court decision of Gratz v. Bollinger, in which the Court upheld the value of student body diversity, but decided that the use of race in the University of Michigan's undergraduate equal opportunity program was not narrowly tailored to achieve the university's asserted interest in diversity. The undergraduate program used a system that assigned points for certain factors such as geography, legacy/alumni relationships, and race, while the law school took a more holistic approach.

Amicus Curiae Briefs

• Leadership Conference/Education Fund Amicue Brief (pdf) - filed in support of the University of Michigan's equal opportunity programs
• Summaries of all Grutter v. Bollinger, et al. briefs - filed in support of the University of Michigan's equal opportunity programs
• Summaries of all Gratz v. Bollinger, et al. briefs - filed in support of the University of Michigan's equal opportunity programs

Feature Stories

• Supreme Court Says Race May Be a Factor in Admissions - June 23, 2003
• Civil Rights Leaders to Respond to Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Decision - June 20, 2003
• Americans for a Fair Chance Gears Up for Supreme Court Decision - June 16, 2003
• Supreme Court Ruling in Michigan Cases Not the Final Word on Affirmative Action - June 3, 2003
• Affirmative Action Supporters Rally at the U. S. Supreme Court - April 4, 2003
• Supreme Court Hears Landmark Civil Rights Cases - April 2, 2003
• Michigan Affirmative Action Cases to Be Argued April 1 - March 28, 2003
• Leadership Conference Files Brief in Support of University of Michigan - February 26, 2003
• 'Percent Plans' Come Up Short, Says Harvard Study - February 20, 2003
• LCCR Condemns Administration's Stance on Diversity in Education - January 15, 2003
• Elected Officials Call on Bush to Support Equal Educational Opportunity - December 27, 2002
• Supreme Court to Hear Affirmative Action Cases - December 3, 2002
• Circuit Court Says Diversity is Compelling Interest - May 20, 2002
• Appeals Court Hears University of Michigan Affirmative Action Case - January 14, 2002
• Future of Affirmative Action May Be for the Supreme Court to Decide - April 12, 2001

Reports

• Reaffirming Diversity: A Legal Analysis of the University of Michigan Affirmative Action Cases - The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University - July 2003