Appeals Court Hears University of Michigan Affirmative Action Case
Feature Story by Celeste Berry - 1/14/2002
The University of Michigan appeared before the Sixth Court of Appeals in Cincinnati December 6, continuing their fight to use affirmative action in their admissions processes. The case was heard before a panel of appellate judges — seven white and two black. A three-judge panel of the court was to have heard the disputes Oct. 23, but agreed to bypass that usual first step for the issue to expedite the case.Due to the amount of financial support that the University of Michigan and over 80 foundations have put into this case, many are predicting that the decision in this case will have major implications of how American institutions handle the issue of race.
The case against the University of Michigan is actually comprised of two conjoined lawsuits. One of the original Michigan suits was brought by Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, who were rejected for admission to the University of Michigan as freshmen 1995 and 1997, respectively. The second case involves Barbara Grutter, who had applied to the University of Michigan Law School in 1997 and was also rejected.
Gratz, Hamacher and Grutter, all white, argued they were denied a place at the university because the school's affirmative action policies awarded their spots to less-qualified minority applicants. They claimed that this amounted to racial discrimination and filed reverse-discrimination lawsuits against the university.
The university argued that it had a right, both according to the Constitution and civil-rights precedents, specifically the 1978 Supreme Court decision, Regents of the University of California v Bakke, which affirmed that universities may use race as a factor in selecting its students, because a more ethnically diverse university leads to a better educational atmosphere.
However the Bakke case also stated that universities may not use racial quotas but may only consider race as a factor when selecting students. Lower courts have interpreted that ruling differently, and this ambivalence has led to the need for a more definite decision.
Many are looking to this case for that definite decision, especially because another key affirmative action case fizzled in November when the University of Georgia decided that it would not fight a federal appeals-court ruling that its race-based admissions policies were unconstitutional. The school said it would try to become a more diverse campus through other means, such as recruitment drives.
It could be months before a ruling comes before the appeals court, and whether the court sides with the plaintiff or the defense, it is very likely that the case will be appealed again to the Supreme Court.
