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Schuette victory : The Scalia concurrence

April 22, 2014 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

Justices Scalia and Thomas counted for two of the six votes in favor of Proposal 2’s constitutionality.  Unlike Justice Kennedy, however, Justice Scalia’s opinion — joined by Justice Thomas — would not save the political structure doctrine.  Scalia’s concurrence argues that Hunter and Seattle should be left on the ...

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Schuette victory : The plurality (Kennedy) opinion

April 22, 2014 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

As I predicted last year, Justice Breyer voted to uphold Proposal 2.  With Justice Kagan’s recusal, that means the Court voted 6-2 in favor of the constitutionality of the Michigan Amendment. Despite the overwhelming support for the constitutionality of Proposal 2, the Justices differed greatly on their reasoning.  In this post, I discuss t ...

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Supreme Court victory in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action

April 22, 2014 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

After eight years of litigation, Michigan’s decision to ban governmental racial classifications has been upheld by the Supreme Court. PLF has been heavily involved in this case since its inception — we represented the ballot sponsors — and this decision is great news.  You can read the opinion here.  I’ll have more on the ...

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Coverage of PLF at the Supreme Court for Schuette

October 22, 2013 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

Last week I was in Washington, D.C. for the oral argument in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action.  This is the case that is challenging whether voters have the right to prohibit racial preferences by government.  In 1996, California voters becase the first to adopt such a ban when they passed Proposition 209, and since that time ...

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Does the Equal Protection Clause guarantee unequal treatment?

October 14, 2013 | By RALPH KASARDA

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. The issue in that case is whether the Equal Protection Clause guarantees individuals the right to unequal – or preferential – treatment.  Logically, the answer should be no.  The Equal Protection Clause provides that no state shall de ...

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Sixth Circuit's political structure analysis : Structure or chaos?

April 03, 2013 | By RALPH KASARDA

  After 31 years, the Supreme Court will finally take another look at the “political structure” doctrine.  If you didn’t read Monday’s post by PLF College of Public Interest Law fellow, Jonathan Wood, you may be unfamiliar with that doctrine.  In 1969, and again in 1982, the United States Supreme Court relied ...

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More on the Sixth Circuit's Proposal 2 decision

November 20, 2012 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

Last Friday I explained the Sixth Circuit’s embarrassing decision to strike down Michigan’s Proposal 2.  President of the National Association of Scholars (and longtime PLF friend) Peter Wood, has been assembling similar reactions to the Sixth Circuit’s decision.  For example, here is what Ward Connerly had to say: There is no ...

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Proposal 2 struck down by the Sixth Circuit

November 15, 2012 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

The Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc, declared Proposal 2 unconstituional under the Equal Protection Clause today. Proposal 2 is Michigan’s landmark constitutional amendment that banned racial preferences and discrimination by state and local government. Think about that for a second — a constitutional amendment banning discrimination is ...

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Breaking news : Ninth Circuit denies activists' attempt to overturn Proposition 209

May 12, 2012 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

It’s rare on the Liberty Blog that we bring you news on the weekend, but we just received word that the Ninth Circuit has denied the petition for rehearing en banc in Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action v. Brown.  Once again, Proposition 209 is safe from the activists who want to see racial preferences reinjected into … ...