On Cusp of Affirmative Action Decision, How Supreme Court Ruled Before

As the Supreme Court is once again on the brink of deciding whether colleges and universities can consider an applicant’s race when making admission decisions, its past rulings reflect a sharp split over what the Constitution and federal law allow. It has been that way since the beginning: In the foundational case on the subject, the court split 4 to 4 to 1. The justices both upheld the use of affirmative action and paved the way for the admission of a White man who had challenged a University of California medical school’s policy of keeping some seats open for minority applicants.