Grutter v. Bollinger
United States Supreme Court
539 U.S. 306 (2003)
- Written by Megan Petersen, JD
Facts
The University of Michigan Law School (law school) followed an unofficial policy that sought to achieve student-body diversity by giving substantial weight to the race of each applicant in making admissions decisions, in addition to its consideration of other academic and nonacademic variables. Barbara Grutter (plaintiff) was a Caucasian Michigan resident who applied to the law school with a 3.8 grade point average and 161 Law School Admission Test score. The law school rejected her application, and she filed suit in federal district court against Bollinger, the university president, and other university officials (defendants) alleging her denial of admission was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court held that the law school’s use of race in its admissions policy was unlawful, but the court of appeals reversed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (O’Connor, J.)
Concurrence (Ginsburg, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Scalia, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Thomas, J.)
Dissent (Kennedy, J.)
Dissent (Rehnquist, C.J.)
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