Grutter v. Bollinger (U.S. 2003): As counsel for the Coalition for Economic Equity, Santa Clara University School of Law Center for Social Justice and Public Service, Justice Collective, Charles Houston Bar Association, and California Association of Black Lawyers, our amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court supported the University of Michigan Law School’s race-conscious admissions policy.
The brief responded to Plaintiff’s argument that the admissions policy was a system of institutionalized racial “preferences” and a “fundamental departure” from the Constitution’s guarantee of equality. Our brief argued that Petitioner’s version of strict scrutiny is grounded in a misconstrued version of the notion of constitutional “colorblindness.” Instead, constitutional colorblindness—appropriately understood—informs a strict scrutiny standard that carefully assesses race-based classifications while affording an added measure of judicial deference for government initiatives designed to remove historically-rooted group disadvantages.