Case Summary
Issue:
Whether a state violates the Equal Protection Clause by amending its constitution to prohibit race and sex-based discrimination or preferential treatment in public-university admissions decisions?
Plaintiffs:
Coalition To Defend Affirmative Action, Integration And Immigrant Rights and Fight For Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), et al.
Defendant:
Bill Schuette, Attorney General of Michigan
Amicus Curiae:
Mountain States Legal Foundation
Join the Fight
Since 1977, MSLF has fought to protect private property rights, individual liberties, and economic freedom. MSLF is a nonprofit public interest legal foundation. We represent clients pro bono and receive no government funding. Make your 100% tax deductible contribution today and join the fight.
Case History
In November 2006, Michigan voters overwhelmingly (58%) approved the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI) and thus amended the State’s Constitution to prohibit preferential treatment in public education, government contracting, and public employment based on race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin. The amendment was first challenged in the Michigan federal district court for the Eastern District of Michigan, which in March 2008 upheld the law. In July 2011, a three-judge panel reversed the district court’s ruling. Finally, after granting en banc review, the Sixth Circuit upheld the panel’s ruling in an 8-7 decision issued in November 2012.
The en banc court held the MCRI violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause because it denies minorities a “fair political process.” Relying on a political restructuring theory, the majority held that, because it has a racial focus, targets a policy or program that benefits minorities, and reallocates political power or reorders decision making so as to place special burdens on minorities’ ability to achieve their goals through that process, it violates the Equal Protection Clause. The dissent demonstrates the majority errs regarding the Supreme Court decisions on which it purports to rely.
