Statement of Boston Bar Association President J.D. Smeallie on the Supreme Court Decision in Fisher v. University of Texas et al.
“We are encouraged by today’s ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas et al., in which the Supreme Court, in a 7 to 1 ruling, endorsed the principles established in Grutter v. Bollinger while determining that the Fifth Circuit failed to correctly apply strict scrutiny standards to the University of Texas’s admissions process. Grutter permits consideration of race in admissions policies.
Last August, the Boston Bar Association and more than 30 signatories united by a shared commitment to advancing diversity in the legal profession filed an amicus brief in Fisher, urging the Supreme Court to declare in the affirmative that the court’s previous decisions – including Grutter v. Bollinger – permit the University of Texas’s use of race in undergraduate admissions decisions.”
