LDF has filed a merits brief urging the Supreme Court to affirm a lower court’s decision striking down a Michigan law that inhibits efforts to promote racial diversity at the state’s public universities. In 2006, opponents of diversity in higher education passed through Proposal 2, a ballot initiative that prohibits Michigan universities from considering race as one of many factors to promote diversity in higher education. Shortly after Proposal 2 passed, LDF filed suit on behalf of students, faculty, and applicants to the University of Michigan, along with a coalition of civil rights groups, including the ACLU of Michigan, the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, and the NAACP’s Michigan Conference of Branches.
Most insidiously, Proposal 2 effectively rigs the system against students and universities that support diversity: It forces supporters of racial diversity to surmount considerably greater obstacles than advocates of legacy status or athletic talent in the admissions process. LDF’s brief to the Supreme Court also argues that a fair reading of prior Supreme Court precedent requires affirming the Court of Appeals decision in favor of LDF’s clients.
Read the brief, authored by LDF, the ACLU, and others, on behalf of respondents Chase Cantrell, et al. And read supporting briefs from fellow respondents University of Michigan and Wayne State University here. Also, a list of selected amicus (friend of the court) briefs is available here.
