U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Michigan Constitutional Amendment Prohibiting Use Of Race-Based Preferences In State University Admissions Decisions

Executive Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an amendment to the Michigan constitution that prohibits the use of race-based preferences as part of the admissions process for all state universities. See Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (BAMN), 2014 U.S. LEXIS 2932 (U.S. Apr. 22, 2014). In upholding the amendment, the Court clarified that its decision does not address the constitutionality or merits of race-conscious admissions policies in higher education, but whether, and in what manner, voters can prohibit the consideration of racial preferences in governmental decisions. The plurality decision authored by Justice Kennedy found "no authority in the Constitution of the United States or in this Court's precedents for the Judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit this policy determination to the voters."

Background

In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a pair of cases addressing the admissions systems at the University of Michigan, one for its undergraduate class and one for the law school. Both systems permitted explicit consideration of the applicant's race. In Gratz v. Bollinger, 536 U.S. 244 (2003), the Court held that the undergraduate admissions process violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003), a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the law school's use of race as a "plus" factor in making an individualized decision on admission was constitutional. In response to these decisions, Michigan voters adopted Proposal 2, an amendment to their state constitution which, among other things, prohibits the use of race-based preferences as part of the admissions process for all state universities. The amendment also bans giving preferential treatment to applicants on account of race, ethnicity, and gender in public employment and public contracting. Many groups rallied against the amendment based on the detrimental impact they believed it would have on attempts to diversify public institutions.

The amendment was challenged in court and, in 2011, the Sixth Circuit held that the amendment violated the principles set forth by the Supreme Court in Washington v. Seattle School Dist. No. 1, 458 U. S. 457 (1982), in which the Court overruled a state initiative that barred busing for desegregation purposes. According to the Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit read Seattle as holding that any state action with a "racial focus" that makes it "more difficult for...