University of Texas Ends Fight to Factor Race in Admissions
After years of appeals, the University of Texas said Tuesday that it is finished fighting its landmark court battle over affirmative action.
The decision effectively ends the case named for Cheryl Hopwood and three other whites who sued the university’s law school in 1992, saying they were denied admission because of a policy that gave preferential treatment to less-qualified Latino and black applicants.
The lawsuit wound up before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1996, the court rejected the university’s contention that it should be allowed to consider race in admissions.
A federal appeals court outlawed the use of race as an admissions factor in the Hopwood ruling, prompting public colleges and universities in Texas to drop affirmative action policies.
The ruling was allowed to stand in 1996 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear another challenge by the university in June.
The school could have appealed the 5th Circuit’s order to pay legal fees.
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