Stanford and Yale are destroying student records that would likely open them to charges of illegal racial discrimination. See this news story in the Chronicle of Higher Education. This ought to be a very big deal. And note this: “Students for Fair Admissions, an advocacy group that has filed lawsuits challenging the race-conscious admissions policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on Thursday sent Yale and several other Ivy League institutions letters warning that they put themselves at legal risk if they destroy such records.” * * * Maryland’s medical marijuana commission will be …
That Bad Voting Bill Is Still Bad
Predictably, the Left has tried to use the Selma anniversary, along with the Oscars, to push its very bad amendments to the Voting Rights Act. Thankfully, there does not seem to be much interest, and rightly so. No new legislation is needed. The Supreme Court decision that the bill supposedly addresses struck down only one provision in the Voting Rights Act, because it was indeed unjustified and outdated; there are plenty of other voting-rights laws available to ensure that the right to vote is not violated. And indeed there is no shortage of lawsuits being filed. If plaintiffs can prove their case, they can …
Racial and Ethnic Preferences in Admission to the University of Utah College of Law
Racial and Ethnic Preferences in Admission to the University of Utah College of Law Related posts: Politicized external review panels as unguided “diversity” missiles: California university administrators remain ultra-slow learners The Multi-Front War against Racial Admission Preferences Keeping an Eye on College Admission Officers Update on the Struggle against Universities’ Affirmative Discrimination
Education and Ferguson
The Center for Equal Opportunity recently sent this letter to the District of Columbia’s attorney general, Karl Racine: Dear Attorney General Racine, We are writing with regard to this news story, which says that [a District of Columbia councilmember] and the American Civil Liberties Union have asked you to consider the legality of a proposed new high school’s gender exclusivity. We respectfully request that, at the same time, you also consider the legality of the racial exclusivity of such programs. We don’t know if the new high school is supposed to be limited to people of certain races, but obviously …
Fisher Is Back!
Supporters of the Center for Equal Opportunity know that we are playing an important role in trying to end racial preferences in university admissions across the country, and have been especially active in Abigail Fisher’s lawsuit against the University of Texas. Well, a cert petition has now been filed on behalf of Ms. Fisher by her lawyers with the Supreme Court, asking that review be granted of the latest court of appeals decision against her. Recall that the last time around, the Supreme Court reversed the Fifth Circuit’s similar ruling; Justice Kennedy’s decision said that the court of appeals had …
Felon Voting and Congress
The Heritage Foundation has just published a paper that I co-wrote on legislative efforts to re-enfranchise felons. In this email, I’ve excerpted the second part of the paper (along with the paper’s “Abstract”). This part of the paper argues that automatic re-enfranchisement of felons is unwise as a matter of policy. But the paper begins by demonstrating in lawyerly detail that, whatever you think as a matter of policy, the Constitution clearly commits this issue to the states. So it is disturbing that Sen. Rand Paul, for example, who claims to be a great champion of the Constitution and its …
Contracting, Assimilation, and Comparable Worth
There was a recent news story in Madison, Wisconsin, on its mayoral candidates forum, and the story mentioned a discussion there of “minority requirements for contractors,” and whether this is something that Madison should have. In my published response, I said the answer is no, regardless of the outcome of the “disparity study” that is under way (and also mentioned in the news story). It’s good to make sure contracting programs are open to all, that bidding opportunities are widely publicized beforehand, and that no one gets discriminated against because of skin color, national origin, or sex. But that means …
Off to a Busy Start in 2015!
The Center for Equal Opportunity had a busy first month in 2015, so I thought I would bring you up to date on just a few of our activities in January. First, we’ve been very involved in the “disparate impact” case that was argued before the Supreme Court last month. In addition to working with the State of Texas (the party in the case), and joining and help write an amicus brief, I’ve also written about the case a number of times, including here and here and here. I also wrote more broadly about disparate impact in my Martin Luther …
Can There Be Nondiscriminatory “Discrimination”?
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, a case in which the Center for Equal Opportunity has been heavily involved. The question presented in this case is: “Are disparate-impact claims cognizable under the Fair Housing Act?” Under a disparate-impact claim, discriminatory motive is irrelevant: It need not be alleged nor proved, and it doesn’t even matter if the defendant proves that there was no discriminatory motive. If a policy or procedure results in a disproportion of some sort — not only on the basis of race, …
Martin Luther King Day – and “Disparate Impact”
It’s felicitous that two days after Martin Luther King Day this year, the Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project. This case involves the “disparate impact” approach to civil-rights enforcement, and that approach is contrary to Dr. King’s famous dream of a day when Americans would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. Suppose that the owner of an apartment complex decides that she does not want to rent units to people with recent convictions for violent crimes. She …