SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENTS TO DEFEND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION!

This is a case to watch. On October 15, the U S Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case of Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. The case is a challenge to Proposal 2, an amendment to the Michigan Constitution that voters approved in 2006 banning affirmative action in the state. A coalition of groups and individuals that favors affirmative action in Michigan challenged the ban and a federal district court largely upheld it. A 3 judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit based in Cincinnati, Ohio, struck down the ban 2-1. The full appeals court re-heard the case en banc and also found that Proposal 2 was unconstitutional by an 8-7 margin – but with five opinions in dissent, holding that the voters had violated the Equal Protection Clause by placing an unfair burden on racial minorities seeking to change the state’s affirmative action policies. (Author credit: Charleston C K Wang)