SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Constitutional Law Keyed to Chemerinsky
Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
Citation:
136 S. Ct. 2196 (2016)Facts
In 1997, Texas enacted a law that guaranteed college admission to students who graduate from a Texas high school in the top 10% of their class. Up to 75% of the spots in Texas colleges are filled through this law, including at UT.
For the remaining 25%, UT evaluates applicants in a wholistic way on a combination of grades, test scores, and personal achievement index (including race). Admissions officers can consider race as a positive feature for minority applications.
Fisher was not in the top 10% of her high school class, so she was evaluated through the wholistic review. Her application was rejected.
Fisher I set forth three principles: 1.) race cannot be considered by a university unless the admissions process can withstand strict scrutiny; 2.) the decision to pursue a diverse student body is appropriate for a university but is subject to judicial review; 3.) a university bears the burden of showing that their policy is narrowly tailored.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.
Topic Resources
Topic Outline
Equal ProtectionTopic Refresher Course
Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment