(PatriotNewsDaily.com) – In a landmark ruling on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited colleges from incorporating race into their admissions criteria. In a split 6-3 judgment, the court concluded that the integration of race into admissions processes breached the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
In the majority’s opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts pointed out that students who have either surmounted racial prejudice or whose cultural and ethnic background have influenced them to undertake leadership roles should secure those positions due to their “distinctive capacity to contribute” to the programs they participate in. Hence, students ought to be evaluated on their personal experiences rather than their racial identity.
The court’s majority opinion emphasized that institutions of higher education have not adhered to this approach for years. Instead, they have been assessing individuals based on their racial background, which contradicts the country’s “constitutional heritage.”
The justices who sided with the majority included Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor penned the leading dissent, joined by Justice Elena Kagan and partially by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Jackson recused herself from the Harvard case due to her former position on Harvard’s Board of Overseers.
The decision arose from two distinct legal disputes—one involving Harvard University and the other concerning the University of North Carolina—where the admissions procedures of both institutions were put to the test.
Copyright 2023, PatriotNewsDaily.com
