Top US court upholds Michigan affirmative action ban

Source:Reuters Published: 2014-4-24 0:18:02

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday further undermined the use of racial preferences in higher education by upholding a voter-approved Michigan law that banned the practice in decisions on which students to admit to state universities.

The 6-2 vote and the four opinions issued by justices in the majority revealed divisions in the court as to the legal rationale in rejecting civil rights groups' challenge to the ban. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the sole dissenting opinion, read excerpts from the bench, calling the decision a blow to "historically marginalized groups, which rely on the federal courts to protect their constitutional rights."

The court emphasized that it was not deciding the larger and divisive question of whether affirmative action admission policies can be lawful.

But the decision made it clear that voter-approved affirmative action bans can withstand legal challenges. It could encourage other states to pass similar bans and deter challenges to existing bans in seven other states.

Civil rights groups had argued that the 2006 Michigan constitutional amendment that passed as a ballot initiative had imposed burdens on racial minorities in violation of the US guarantee of equal protection.

Affirmative action programs, first advocated in the 1960s to combat discrimination against racial minorities, have faced a backlash from conservatives in recent decades. Court rulings and action by states have chipped away at the practice.

In November 2012, a divided 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, ruled Michigan's ban unconstitutional, prompting the state to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Michigan's Republican attorney general, Bill Schuette, said in an interview that the Supreme Court had provided other states with a "constitutional roadmap" if they wish to enact similar laws and had "heard the voices of voters who overwhelmingly voted to require equal treatment in admissions."

The other states with similar bans are Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.

Reuters

Posted in: Americas

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