Articles

The oral argument in last week’s Prop. 8 case, Hollingsworth v. Perry, suggested that the justices may be skeptical of the Hunter-Seattle doctrine.  While PLF has taken no position on the merits of the Prop. 8 case, the United States, as amici, put forth a legal theory that relates to a doctrine in which PLF … ...

  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 ...

In this excellent post from Discriminations, John Rosenberg describes the five fallacies of the Sixth Circuit’s “jaw-dropping” decision in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action.  In Schuette, the court said Michigan’s voters had somehow violated the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause by enacting ...

Last week, The Economist‘s cover story argued against the continued use of race-based affirmative action in the United States.  The lead article is well worth your time and can be found here.  The article discusses the upcoming decision in Fisher as well as the recent grant in Schuette — two cases that PLF has been … ...

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 ...

PLF staff attorney, Ralph Kasarda, will be appearing on the KQED Forum radio show at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, October 15, 2013, to discuss Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action.  The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument in that case tomorrow.  The Court’s decision will likely determine the constitutionality of state ba ...

PLF attorney Joshua Thompson is at the U.S. Supreme Court today for oral argument in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action.  This case challenges the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which voters enacted as Proposal 2 in 2006.  Like California’s Proposition 209, Proposal 2 prohibits state and local governments from discriminat ...

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 ...

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 ...