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Constitutional Law Keyed to Stone
Fisher v. University of Texas (Fisher II)
Citation:
579 U.S. 365, 136 S. Ct. 2198, 195 L. Ed. 2D 511 (2016)Facts
The University of Texas at Austin (UT) has modified its admissions policies several times over the past decades. After the Fifth Circuit’s 1996 Hopwood decision prohibited race-conscious admissions, UT implemented a race-neutral policy combining the Texas Top Ten Percent Law (which guarantees admission to students in the top 10% of their high school class) with a holistic review process that considered various non-racial factors. Following the Supreme Court’s 2003 Grutter decision, which upheld limited use of race in admissions, UT conducted a year-long study and concluded that its race-neutral approach was not achieving sufficient diversity. In 2004, UT modified its admissions process to include race as one of many factors in the holistic review portion of its admissions process. Under this system, approximately 75% of the freshman class was admitted through the Top Ten Percent Plan, with the remainder admitted through holistic review that considered academic performance, personal essays, leadership, activities, service, and special circumstances including race. Abigail Fisher, who was not in the top 10% of her high school class, applied to UT in 2008 and was rejected under the holistic review process. She filed suit, claiming that UT’s consideration of race violated the Equal Protection Clause.
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