The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld
Michigan's ban on using race as a factor in college admissions. The justices said in a 6-2 ruling that
Michigan voters had the right to change their state constitution in 2006 to
prohibit public colleges and universities from taking account of race in
admissions decisions. The justices said that a lower federal court was wrong to
set aside the change as discriminatory.
Justice Anthony Kennedy said voters chose
to eliminate racial preferences, presumably because such a system could give
rise to race-based resentment. Kennedy said nothing in the Constitution or
the court's prior cases gives judges the authority to undermine the election
results. "This case is not about how the debate
about racial preferences should be resolved. It is about who may resolve
it," Kennedy said.
In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said
the decision tramples on the rights of minorities, even though the amendment
was adopted democratically. "But without checks, democratically approved
legislation can oppress minority groups," said Sotomayor, who read her
dissent aloud in the courtroom Tuesday. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sided with
Sotomayor in dissent......To Read More....
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