The Good Men Project

Affirmative Action Case Sent Back to Lower Court by SCOTUS

supreme court, affirmative action, abigail fisher, university of texas

The Supreme Court has made its ruling: they won’t consider the case until the lower court has done its job properly.

A surprise ruling sent Abigail Fisher and the University of Texas back a bit when the Supreme Court decided that the lower court “did not hold the university to the demanding burden of strict scrutiny” from a preceding case, Grutter v. Bollinger. The previous decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit was “vacated and remanded.”

Fisher, a white student, claims that she was denied admission to the University of Texas because affirmative action admission processes discriminated against her based on race when she did not meet the school’s academic requirements for automatic admission.

The case has been under close scrutiny by the public eye because it takes a look at the 1978 precedent case in which the Supreme Court outlawed minority quotas because it was discriminatory towards white people.

Although being sent back to the appeals court is a minor victory for Fisher—the initial ruling upheld the university’s program—a stricter look at the admissions process at the University of Texas may still result in it being sent to the Supreme Court.

Photo: Ryan Wick/Flickr

Exit mobile version