Harvard Wins Appeal

Back in October 2019, Harvard University claimed victory in a case in which the school was accused of discriminating against Asian American applicants in its admissions process. Back then, a federal judge declared that while Harvard’s system of evaluating applicants to the university wasn’t perfect, “the court will not dismantle a very fine admissions program that passes constitutional muster, solely because it could do better.” But the group that unsuccessfully sued Harvard, Students for Fair Admission, would soon thereafter appeal the federal judge’s decision. All of that leads us to today when a federal appeals court ruled that Harvard’s admissions process does not violate civil rights law. But is the case over just yet? No, you know what they say about counting chickens. This one is likely headed to the conservative-leaning United States Supreme Court.

Harvard v. SFFA Case Could Go to Supreme Court

And will the Supreme Court choose to hear the case? We happen to think so, particularly in light of the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the bench. As Anemona Hartocollis reports for The New York Times in a piece entitled “Harvard Victory Pushes Admissions Case Toward a More Conservative Supreme Court,” “The Harvard case is among several challenging affirmative action that are expected to go forward in the courts even after the departure of the Trump administration, which has backed efforts to end race-based admissions policies. They include litigation against the University of North Carolina and the University of Texas. All were filed by Mr. [Edward] Blum’s group, Students for Fair Admissions. In the Harvard case, the group sued on behalf of rejected Asian-American students who said the university was violating federal civil rights law…One reason the Supreme Court might find the Harvard case compelling is that it framed the issue in a new way, pitting the rights of Asian-Americans against other racial groups. The more classic case accuses universities of discriminating against white applicants.”

Ivy Coach’s Crystal Ball Predicts Case Will Be Heard By Our Nation’s Highest Court

Chief Justice John Roberts has admirably aimed to balance the conservative-leaning Supreme Court in recent months. But even if he sided with the three liberal justices, it would take another justice to come to the support of Harvard if this case were to be heard before our nation’s highest court — or the longstanding practice of Affirmative Action could well be in peril. Ivy Coach’s famously accurate crystal ball hereby predicts that this case will indeed be on the high court’s docket in the months to come. And here’s hoping the university claims their third and final victory in the case — in a striking rebuke to all of the efforts by the one-man band known as Edward Blum who has long sought to put to an end the consideration of race in admissions.