Contemporary Business and Online Commerce Law 7th Edition by Henry R Cheeseman

Exercise 4

Public Policy The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that the government shall not deny to any person within its jurisdiction the “equal protection of the laws.” However, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the government is permitted to treat persons differently if it is necessary to further a compelling governmental interest and it is narrowly tailored to do so. The U.S. Supreme Court was asked to judge the constitutionality of an affirmative action program in this case.

Barbara Grutter, a Caucasian resident of the state of Michigan, applied to the Law School of the University of Michigan, a state government-supported institution, with a 3.8 undergraduate grade point average and a 161 LSAT score. The Law School rejected her application. The Law School received 3,500 applications for a class of350 students. The Law School used race as one of the factors in considering applicants for admission to law school. The race of minority applicants, defined as African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, was considered as a “plus factor” in considering their applications to law school. Caucasians and Asians were not given such a plus factor. The Law School stated that it used race as a plus factor to obtain a critical mass of underrepresented minority students in order to create diversity at the school.

Grutter brought a class action lawsuit against the Law School of the University of Michigan, alleging that its use of a minority’s race as a plus factor in admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The District Court held that the Law School’s use of race as a factor in admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Court of Appeals reversed. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear the appeal.

What does the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provide? What policy is served by this clause? What is affirmative action? What public policy is served by affirmative action programs? Is it socially responsible for the University of Michigan Law School to consider a minority applicant’s race as a plus factor in its admissions decisions? Is anyone hurt by the University of Michigan Law School’s race-conscious admissions policy? Does the University of Michigan Law School’s use of race as a plus factor in accepting minority applicants for admission to the Law School violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Grutter v. Bollinger and the University of Michigan Law School, 539 U.S. 306,123 S.Ct. 2325,156 L.Ed.2d 304, Web 2003 U.S. Lexis 4800 (Supreme Court of the United States)