Grutter V. Boller 2003 Summary

Issue: Whether the male officer who scored 91% (the highest score), stand a chance at overturning the female officer’s promotion (who had the lowest score, and first female ever to be promoted as sergeant), under the present judicial views on affirmative action.

Rules:

14th Amendment Right - No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that using racial quotas in college admission decisions violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Equal Protection Clause, included in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, affirms that "no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Grutter v. Bollinger 539 U.S. 306 (2003) - In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly upheld the decision to allow colleges and universities to use race as a component in their admissions policies by ruling in favor of the University of Michigan’s law school admissions

Precedent to this could be seen in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, (1978). While Regents of the University of California v. Bakke decision eliminated racial quotas, it did allow race to be considered as one of many admission factors for the purpose of achieving a diverse student