“This was obviously a big surprise,” said Christina Swarns, the [Director of Litigation] for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in New York, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the university’s plan. “It demonstrates a remarkable evolution in the way [Justice Anthony M. Kennedy] thinks about these issues.” … Still, Swarns, of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the Fisher II decision is “a big win” for proponents of affirmative action at every level of education, noting that “at this point, we have only three justices with clear and unambiguous opposition to race-based admissions”—Alito, Roberts, and Thomas.
“Same-sex marriage. Voting Rights. Obamacare. These are among the many enormously consequential causes that have fallen to Donald Verrilli to defend at the Supreme Court over the past five years. On this week’s episode, he looks back on some of the highlights—and lowlights—of his term as U.S. Solicitor General.”
“We’re also joined by Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to discuss this week’s big affirmative action win at the Supreme Court. Many court watchers were surprised by Justice Anthony Kennedy’s vote in Fisher v. University of Texas, but not Ifill. She tells us why.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin marks a major victory for universities and students throughout the country, and reaffirms the commonsense proposition that diversity along various lines – including racial diversity – yields significant educational benefits on college campuses.”
