[Updated (11/12/2014, 5:20 p.m) to include a statement from the university.]
The last hope for critics of affirmative action in the case
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[Updated (11/12/2014, 5:20 p.m) to include a statement from the university.]
The last hope for critics of affirmative action in the case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin is the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday denied a petition for a full hearing by the court, setting the stage for a second showdown in the Supreme Court, should it choose to take the case.
The high court heard the case about race-conscious admissions last year, but punted it back to the lower court—which had previously ruled in the university’s favor—with instructions to apply much stricter scrutiny. A three-judge panel ruled in July that the lower court’s ruling upholding the university’s admissions policy was sound. The plaintiff, Abigail N. Fisher, appealed, but was denied a hearing by the full court on Wednesday.
Ms. Fisher applied to the University of Texas at Austin but was rejected in 2008. She sued the college, arguing that its consideration of race as a factor in the admissions process was unconstitutional.
The Fifth Circuit judges voted, 10 to 5, against rehearing. Edward Blum, director of the Project on Fair Representation, which has helped represent Ms. Fisher, said in a statement on Wednesday that Ms. Fisher and her family were “disappointed” but that “they have been in this posture before. This case will be appealed back to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
In a written statement, the president of the University of Texas at Austin, William C. Powers Jr., said, “We are pleased with the ruling of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The University of Texas at Austin is committed to maintaining a student body that provides the educational benefits of diversity while respecting the rights of all students. The exchange of ideas and cultural richness that occurs when students from diverse backgrounds come together on our campus prepares all our students for life in a global society.”
