(RightWing.org) – Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor predicted using race-based admission policies would “no longer be necessary in 25 years” in her majority decision upholding affirmative action in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003). As it turned out, she missed the mark by five years since SCOTUS ended the use of that policy at public and private colleges in its ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College on June 29. A former Trump administration official quickly responded by sending letters to 200 institutes of higher learning.
Stephen Miller’s advocacy group, America First Legal, issued a press release detailing its efforts to enforce the court’s ruling, striking down affirmative action. The former senior advisor to President Donald Trump founded the organization to use the country’s legal system to “defend our society and… families from any unlawful actions by the left.”
The group explained it sent letters to the deans of every law school in the country — roughly 200 — “demanding” they immediately “cease discriminating” against prospective students “based on race and sex” during the admissions process.
The letters advised that it was also unlawful to discriminate while hiring faculty members by favoring “female and minority… candidates at the expense of others.” The notices also included a warning regarding discriminatory practices regarding student-run law journal staff members and article selection.
The statement explained that America First Legal was putting law schools on notice. Either they “immediately halt [those] discriminatory and unlawful practices,” or the group will take the appropriate legal action against them.
The group posted a copy of the letter it sent to Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning. It contained similar language. The notice warned that it was “unlawful” for the school to “flout the Constitution… by admitting students” with lower academic credentials and entry exam scores “than those demanded of others” based on their national origin, sex, or race.
It remains unclear if the law schools will heed America First’s warning. However, Harvard University posted a statement signed by its president, provost, and deans indicating its intention to develop a new admissions policy “consistent with the Court’s new precedent” and the school’s “essential values.”
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