Court Overturns Michigan Anti-Affirmative Action Law
Detroit- Michigan's ban on using race and gender as a factor in admission to public colleges and universities was overturned today by a federal appeals court, which said the voter-approved measure harms minorities and is unconstitutional.
The 2-1 decision struck down Proposal 2, the 2006 law that had forced the University of Michigan and other state schools to revise their admission policies. The judges ruled that the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
The court in particular objected to the inclusion of the voter-approved ban in the Michigan Constitution in its 59-page ruling.
"Proposal 2 reorders the political process in Michigan to place special burdens on minority interests," judges R. Guy Cole Jr. and Martha Craig Daughtrey said.
The ban, passed with 58 percent of the vote nearly five years ago, affected government hiring as well as college admissions.
In 2008, a federal judge in Detroit upheld the law, saying it was race-neutral.
George Washington, the chief attorney for the law's opponents, applauded the decision today.
"It's a great victory. It means affirmative action is legal again in college admissions. It means that thousands of talented black, Latino and Native Americans can go to our public universities," Washington said.
Washington said the ruling means universities can again consider and adopt affirmative action polices.
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Read more at The Detroit News.
Good news. I did a lot of canvassing for the No on Prop.2 side back in '06, and was pretty damned disappointed when it passed
The 2-1 decision struck down Proposal 2, the 2006 law that had forced the University of Michigan and other state schools to revise their admission policies. The judges ruled that the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
The court in particular objected to the inclusion of the voter-approved ban in the Michigan Constitution in its 59-page ruling.
"Proposal 2 reorders the political process in Michigan to place special burdens on minority interests," judges R. Guy Cole Jr. and Martha Craig Daughtrey said.
The ban, passed with 58 percent of the vote nearly five years ago, affected government hiring as well as college admissions.
In 2008, a federal judge in Detroit upheld the law, saying it was race-neutral.
George Washington, the chief attorney for the law's opponents, applauded the decision today.
"It's a great victory. It means affirmative action is legal again in college admissions. It means that thousands of talented black, Latino and Native Americans can go to our public universities," Washington said.
Washington said the ruling means universities can again consider and adopt affirmative action polices.
---------------------------
Read more at The Detroit News.
Good news. I did a lot of canvassing for the No on Prop.2 side back in '06, and was pretty damned disappointed when it passed