Articles

In February, eight Black and Hispanic families filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Connecticut State Department of Education's race-based enrollment quotas for Hartford's magnet schools. This policy mandates that 25% of a magnet school's seats be reserved for white and Asian students. This quota is so inflexible and rigid that schools are requi ...

About seven years ago, then PLF attorney Sharon Browne co-drafted a model brief with Roger Clegg of the Center for Equal Opportunity. The model brief is intended to be used by attorneys looking to challenge government policies that require race-based contracting preferences. In the two decades since the Supreme Court last ruled on the constitutiona ...

This upcoming Wednesday, April 5, Wencong Fa and I will be in St. Louis for oral argument in E.L. v. Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation. We will be representing Edmund Lee and his mother La'Shieka White in their quest to strike down a St. Louis policy that prohibits African-American children from attending magnet and charter schools in the ...

Rothe Development, a small contracting business located in Texas, submitted the lowest bid on a Defense Department contract.   But because the Small Business Act creates a preference for firms owned by socially or economically disadvantaged individuals, Rothe was not awarded the contract.  Rothe sued the Defense Department and the Small Business Ad ...

We received some very shocking and extremely sad news yesterday. Joe Hicks passed away at the age of 75. I've had the pleasure of meeting Joe a number of times, most recently this past June. When I had previously met Joe, it was usually at round table discussions. When he spoke, the room stopped -- something important was forthcoming. He was alway ...

Earlier this month, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Ohio HB523, a bill legalizing medical uses of cannabis in the state. Like every other state to liberalize its regulation of marijuana, Ohio will strictly regulate all new businesses participating in the industry, whether they grow, test, or sell cannabis products at retail. Getting a license to e ...

In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the University of Texas's use of race in its admissions process does not violate the Constitution. Justice Kennedy wrote the Court's opinion. The decision is what you'd expect from an opinion upholding the university's race-based admissions plan -- deferential and uncritical. The Court grants the uni ...

This afternoon we filed a motion for preliminary injunction in White v. Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation. This is our challenge to a St. Louis-area policy that prevents black kids -- and only black kids -- from transferring from St. Louis County into public schools in the City of St. Louis. This is a blatant, invidious, unjust, and racis ...

At 10am EST tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will hear argument in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. After six years of PLF involvement in this case, you probably know the facts: After the Supreme Court's decision in Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003, the University of Texas instituted a race-based admission policy. However, unlike the use of ...