In August, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas, an affirmative action case challenging the admission policies and practices of the University of Texas at Austin. The Supreme Court granted certiorari on the question of whether the Supreme Court’s decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, including Grutter v. Bollinger, permit the university’s use of race as a factor in undergraduate admission decisions.
In Fisher, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas held that, under the Supreme Court’s decision in Grutter, the university had a compelling interest in attaining a diverse student body. The District Court concluded that the university’s admissions program was narrowly tailored to serve that interest. On appeal to the Fifth Circuit, the three judges on the panel all voted to affirm the district court ruling, relying on the Grutter decision.
The BBA’s Diversity & Inclusion Section has asked the BBA to weigh in on the issues raised in Fisher.
This isn’t the first time the BBA has been asked to take a position on race-conscious admissions policies. The BBA was an amici in Grutter – arguing that not having race-conscious admissions policies would harm efforts to diversify the legal profession. Grutter involved the use of race-conscious admissions policies at the University of Michigan Law School. The BBA’s amicus brief in Grutter urged the Supreme Court to uphold race-conscious admissions policies as vital to integrating the legal profession.
The issues raised in Fisher and in Grutter are important to the BBA. A diverse and inclusive legal community is central to the BBA’s mission — to advance the highest standards of excellence for the legal profession, facilitate access to justice, and serve the community at large. The BBA has consistently taken the position that race-conscious admissions policies are necessary to ensure that the legal community reflects the growing diversity of our population. A legal community that accurately reflects the composition of the people it serves instills confidence and helps ensure that every person has equal access to justice.
Diversity as a concept is broader than just race and gender. In the context of the BBA, valuing diversity means recognizing the unique professional contributions that different individuals can make, and creating an environment that maximizes the potential of all members. The BBA has made diversity a part of its institutional culture in recent years, but we can do more. Diversity is now an ongoing discussion and not a just an agenda item.
The Fisher decision promises to have serious implications for affirmative action policies, and ultimately our ability to integrate the legal profession.
-Kathleen Joyce
Government Relations Director
Boston Bar Association
