By John Schwartz and Richard Perez- Pena
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s decision to send a thorny affirmative action case back to the lower courts for additional review left both sides claiming victory on Monday.
Students and visitors on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin on Monday.
Civil rights groups that favor race-conscious admissions cheered the ruling, arguing that the court had upheld its 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. That decision supported the principle that states have a compelling interest in achieving student diversity but required that any plan to include race as a factor in admissions should be subjected to strong scrutiny.
“We’re gratified that the court has essentially upheld that framework,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Edward Blum, the man who has been the driving force behind the challenge to the University of Texas at Austin ruled on by the court, scoffed at the claims of a victory from groups that support affirmative action. “If they are excited about this ruling,” he said, “I think it’s gravely misplaced.”
The decision, Mr. Blum said, “begins the restoration of the original colorblind principles to our nation’s civil rights laws,” and will both hasten the end of racial preferences in schools across the nation and unleash a flood of lawsuits. Under the justices’ requirement that racial distinctions in admissions be subjected to a tough constitutional test, he said, “it is very unlikely that most institutions will be able to overcome these hurdles.”
Experts without a strong stake in the case said that neither side should feel fully triumphant, and that the issue was far from resolved.
More>>