Discrimination Cases of the 2002 Term
26 Pages Posted: 13 Nov 2013
Date Written: 2004
Abstract
The 2002 Supreme Court Term discrimination cases include one Title VII employment discrimination case, one Americans with Disabilities Act case, and, of course, two of the most closely watched cases of the term -- the two University of Michigan affirmative action decisions: Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger. These cases, along with Lawrence v. Texas, were the blockbuster cases of the term. They provide the long awaited answer to the question of whether colleges and universities can take race into account in fashioning their admissions policies. In other words, does Bakke remain good law? The short answer to that question is yes; but as we will see, it is a nuanced yes.
The author concludes with a review of the future of affirmative action. The affirmative action decisions of the 2002 Term are not limited to public universities, as the Court explicitly stated that “discrimination that violates the Equal Protection Clause ... committed by an institution that accepts federal funds also constitutes a violation of Title VI.” The author’s first political prediction is that affirmative action, and these two cases in particular, will figure prominently in the next round of judicial appointments, with a judge's views on affirmative action becoming the same kind of litmus test that abortion has been. Second, there are probably going to be efforts to pass statewide initiatives to ban any consideration of race. The future of affirmative action is likely to continue to be played out in the courts, but at the same time, state and national political strategies will play a significant role as well.
Keywords: Supreme Court, discrimination, Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, Desert Palace, Clackamas Gastroenterology Associates, affirmative action, Grutter, Gratz, University of Michigan, Bakke, Title VI, Equal protection Clause
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