Michigan affirmative action plea denied
on Jan 19, 2007 at 7:06 pm
The Supreme Court on Friday evening refused to clear the way for three state universities in Michigan to use race and gender factors as part of their admissions process during the current academic year. The Sixth Circuit Court ruling barring the use of any such criteria during the present admissions cycle thus remains intact.
A federal judge in Detroit had granted temporary permission to the three universities to continue their admissions policies, even though challengers contend those policies violate a voter-approved state ban on race and gender preferences in state programs and policies. The Sixth Circuit stayed that order; the case remains pending on the merits in lower courts, and state officials and agencies are weighing its impact on state agencies.
Justice John Paul Stevens had been asked to lift the Circuit Court stay; the request was made by a coalition of civil rights groups and minority admissions applicants.. Stevens referred the application to the full Court, which denied it without further comment. The application was 06A678, Coalition to Defender Affirmative Action, et al., v. Granholm. The Court’s order reads: “The application to vacate the stay entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on December 29, 2006, presented to Justice Stevens and by him referred to the Court, is denied.”
The universities — the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University — had already abandoned their current policies because of the Sixth Circuit’s action.
