Grutter v. Bollinger
Grutter v. Bollinger: The Background
Barbara Grutter was a woman living in Michigan. The case of Grutter v. Bollinger stems from Mrs. Grutter’s application the law school at the University of Michigan. Mrs. Grutter filed an injunction against the massive university in 2007.
The injunction filed against the school was in response to Mrs. Grutter’s application being rejected. The woman claimed that the admissions office favored minority candidates; Mrs. Grutter claimed minority candidates, who possessed worse academic records and qualifications, were accepted because of their race or ethnicity.
The case of Grutter v. Bollinger was not the first to question acceptances of minority candidates for academic institutions or employment opportunities. For example, in a 1978 case called California vs. Bakke, Bakke cited unfair acceptance practices undertaken by the University of California. Bakke claimed that applicants who were less fortunate or poor who possessed lower scores were accepted over him. Bakke claimed that the university violated his 14th Amendment rights.
In addition to the 14th Amendment to the United States constitution, unfair admissions policies may also be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights act of 1964. This law states that no ethnic or racial preference should be granted to a particular group of people by any academic institution or business organization that receives federal funding. Therefore, any program that receives money from the government may not favor any applicant based on their race or ethnicity.
Grutter v. Bollinger: The Case Profile
The case of Grutter v. Bollinger took place on April 1st of 2003. The case was filed because Barbara Grutter thought her rejection from the University of Michigan’s law school was unfair. She thought the school accepted minority candidates over her even if those individuals had worse grades than her. Similar to the case of Bakke v. California, Grutter claimed that the University of Michigan violated her 14th Amendment rights. Grutter v. Bollinger was heard in the United States Supreme Court. The case of Grutter v. Bollinger was decided on June 23rd of 2003.
Grutter v. Bollinger: The Verdict
The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the University of Michigan. Because of this ruling, the court also required that the verdict in the case of Bakke v. California be overturned as well. The verdict in Grutter v. Bollinger was reached because the Law School admission process involved other facets outside of simply grades. Because of this, there was no way to prove that the school accepted or preferred candidates based on their race or ethnicity.
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