Fisher v. UT–Austin and the Future of Racial Preferences in College Admissions

COMMENTARY Civil Rights

Fisher v. UT–Austin and the Future of Racial Preferences in College Admissions

Aug 10, 2016 1 min read
COMMENTARY BY

Former Legal Fellow and Appellate Advocacy Program Manager

Elizabeth Slattery researches and writes on the rule of law, separation of powers, civil rights, and other constitutional issues.

Abigail Fisher made a second trip to the Supreme Court of the United States this term, in her challenge to the University of Texas at Austin’s race-conscious admissions program. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 in her favor, finding that the lower courts were too deferential to school officials. But this time around, four justices found that deference “must be given” when school officials give a “reasoned, principled explanation” for why they must discriminate against some applicants in favor of certain preferred minority applicants. Now that Fisher has reached the end of the road, what happens next with racial preferences in college admissions?

Read the full article here.

The piece originally appeared in The Federalist Society Review.

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