Different from more traditional policy-making avenues, the courts provide an antipolitical arena that does not require broad agreement from various constituents for policy enactment. Seeking to guide court decisions on these policy issues, individuals and organizations have filed "amicus" briefs that increasingly include social science…

This article describes the outcomes of the case "Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin," in which the plaintiff had accused the University of Texas (UT) of racial discrimination in the admission process. The author believes that the ruling of the court in this case makes it harder to hide race-based measures used in college admissions.…

Due to the value of personal rights and freedoms, along with the associated questions and continuing problems, the issue of "civil rights" continues to be relevant in the twenty-first century. In the United States, the civil rights of disenfranchised people are adversely affected by various social, regional, and federal policies.…

Litigation against colleges and universities has prompted the need to re-examine the legalities of the means by which they strive for a diverse student population. Court decisions have resulted in mixed signals about the use of various types of affirmative action policies. This study' method presented an analysis of archival data to provide a…

The DeFunis case regarding reverse discrimination in law school admissions, won in the state trial court, reversed by the State Supreme Court, then rejected in 1974 in the U.S. Supreme Court as a "moot" case (DeFunis had already graduated), is reviewed. An outline of the appeal argument is included along with discussion of the unresolved…

Two legal problems highlighted by the DeFunis litigation are: (1) the proper role of race in undergraduate admissions; and (2) the procedure of underground graduate admissions. (Author/KE)

Discusses the laws involving duration and domicile laws defining noncitizen's status in relation to residency requirements in education. Considers the extension of the "Plyler vs. Doe" decision to higher education. Reviews some state statutes for "Plyler-like" situations and finds many state practices to be unconstitutional.…

This legal document presents the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case brought against the University of Michigan's use of racial preferences in undergraduate admissions. In Gratz et al. v. Bollinger et al., the Court held that while race is one of a number of factors that can be considered in undergraduate admissions, the automatic…

Recent court decisions have rejected fostering of diversity as a compelling state interest. In a 1999 case (Brewer v West Irondequoit School District), Federal District Judge David Larimer ordered the West Irondequoit Central School District to admit a previously rejected (white) transfer student. Using class, not race, as an admission criterion…

This legal document presents the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the affirmative action case brought against the University of Michigan's Law School. On June 23, 2003, the Court held in Grutter v. Bollinger et al. that diversity is a compelling interest in higher education and that race is one of a number of factors that can be taken into…

On July 22, 1980, in U.S. Federal District Court in Texas, Judge Woodrow Seals declared unconstitutional Section 21.031 of the Texas Education Code which restricted children of undocumented immigrants from attending Texas public schools. The decision's effect is to affirm the Constitutional right to an education regardless of immigration status.…