Good Faith and Narrow Tailoring in Fisher
Posted: 30 May 2013 Last revised: 2 Oct 2017
Date Written: May 29, 2013
Abstract
This piece considers three issues relating to the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Fisher v. University of Texas: First, how should the Court perform the narrow tailoring inquiry? Is any deference due the University with respect to its choice of means by which it seeks to diversify its class? Second, how should the relatively modest impact of the university’s racial preference impact the Court’s assessment of narrow tailoring? Third, what is the constitutional relevance of Texas’s Top Ten Percent Program? Does the relative success of the program make it a workable race-neutral alternative that constitutionally precludes the school from adding additional race-conscious diversity-seeking measures?
Keywords: Affirmative Action, Grutter, Fisher, Narrow Tailoring, Good Faith
JEL Classification: K39
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation