Federal Judge Upholds Race-Conscious Admissions at Naval Academy

A federal judge upheld the U.S. Naval Academy’s race-conscious admissions policies Friday, stymieing a lawsuit from the organization that successfully halted those practices at civilian colleges in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case last year. The Maryland institution’s use of race-conscious admissions is in line with the high court’s ruling, which exempted military academies from the ban, U.S. Senior District Judge Richard Bennett wrote in his 179-page decision. Race-conscious admissions helps the Naval Academy create “an officer corps that represents the country it protects and the people it leads,” he wrote.