UNC at the Supreme Court: Resources about the Upcoming Admissions Case

Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases about the role of race in college admissions, including one case involving UNC. These cases—due to the new makeup of the Supreme Court—could signal a significant change in the law surrounding race conscious college admissions programs.

So, if you want to know more about the UNC case, or this legal issue in general, we’ve compiled a reading guide that has everything you need to know. First is a list of news articles covering the Supreme Court’s decision to take the case. Next is a list of the most relevant judicial opinions on this topic, including the district court’s ruling in the UNC case. Finally, we have compiled a list of law review articles for those who want a deeper dive on the subject.

Recent News:

Note: Some news resources require a subscription for access.

Kelsey Butler & Ella Ceron, The Coming Showdown Over Race in U.S. College Admissions, Bloomberg (Jan. 24 2022).

Amy Howe, Court will hear challenges to affirmative action at Harvard and University of North Carolina, SCOTUSBLOG (Jan. 24 2022).

Adam Liptak & Anemona Hartocollis, Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Affirmative Action at Harvard and U.N.C., NYT (Jan. 24 2022).

Kate Murphy, U.S. Supreme Court will hear UNC-Chapel Hill, Harvard affirmative action cases, The News & Observer (Jan. 24 2022).

Ian Millhiser, The Supreme Court will hear two cases that are likely to end affirmative action, Vox (Jan. 24 2022).

Deborah Archer, Race Conscious Admissions Policies are Crucial to an Equitable Society, US Law Week (Jan. 25 2022).

Jason L. Riley,  A Chance to Remove Race from College Admissions , WSJ Opinion (Jan. 25 2022).

Relevant Cases:

Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina , M.D.N.C. (2019).

Fisher v. Texas , 570 US 297 (2013).

Grutter v. Bollinger , 539 US 306 (2003).

Gratz v. Bollinger , 539 US 244 (2003). 

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke , 438 US 265 (1978).

Law Review Articles:

Kimberly West-Faulcon, Reversed Protection: A Discrimination Claim Gone Wild in Fisher v. Texas, 7 UC Irvine L. Rev. 133 (2017).

Vernon L Francis, Accepting Uncertainty: Fisher v. University of Texas and Race-Conscious College Admissions, 43 J.C. & U.L. 124 (2017).

Kimberly Jenkins Robinson, Fisher’s Cautionary Tale and the Urgent Need for Equal Access to an Excellent Education, 130 Harv. L. Rev. 185 (2016).