Gratz v. Bollinger

Facts of the Case

Gratz arose out of a challenge to the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions policies. Unlike the University of Michigan Law School admissions policy, which was addressed in Grutter and called for all applicants to be evaluated individually, officials in the undergraduate college used a point system based on such criteria as test scores, grades, recommendations, and activities. Under this system, applicants had to accumulate 100 points in order to guarantee admission. Applicants who were members of designated minority groups were automatically given 20 points simply because of their race. As a practical matter, this meant that members of the minority groups had to accumulate only 80 points under the other criteria, while nonminority applicants had to accumulate 100 points from those sources.

After a federal trial court in Michigan partially granted a motion for summary judgment entered on behalf of students who challenged the admissions policy, and while an appeal was pending at the Sixth Circuit, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Gratz in light of its having already having accepted a challenge to the outcome in Grutter.

The Supreme Court's Ruling

The Supreme Court, in a six-to-three judgment written by Chief Justice Rehnquist, reasoned that because the university's admissions policy was not narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling governmental interest, it was unconstitutional. In reaching its judgment, the Court made three key points. First, the Court explained that such a bureaucratic approach was inconsistent with individualized consideration, because the potential for each applicant to contribute to diversity had to be judged on a case-by-case basis. To this end, the Court noted that one cannot assume that individuals will contribute to diversity simply because of their races.

Second, the Supreme Court pointed out that the educational benefits of diversity must encompass more than simple racial diversity. The Court maintained that because other characteristics may well give applicants unique perspectives that constitute contributions to diversity, officials had to take these into consideration.

Third, the Court indicated that administrative convenience did not justify the bureaucratic application of race. More specifically, the Court wrote that if officials intend to rely on race as an admissions criterion, then they must read each application. It almost goes without saying that this point has enormous practical consequences for large institutions or officials in highly competitive colleges and universities that receive thousands of applications.

Justice O'Connor, the author of the majority opinion in Grutter, penned a short concurrence. She emphasized the differences between the unconstitutional policy for undergraduate admissions in Gratz and the constitutional approach that the law school used in making admissions decisions in Grutter.

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