Washington, DC – On news today that the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas-Austin, Constitutional Accountability Center Civil Rights Director David Gans issued the following reaction: 

“In rejecting the claims of Abigail Fisher and Ed Blum today, Justice Kennedy wrote powerfully to explain that ‘the Equal Protection Clause does not force universities to choose between a diverse student body and a reputation for academic excellence.’ As we showed in our brief, the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment were the originators of affirmative action, and today’s ruling is consonant with their understanding of the text, history, and purpose of the Equal Protection Clause.”

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Resources: 

CAC “friend of the court” brief in Fisher v. UT Austin: http://theusconstitution.org/cases/fisher-v-university-texas-austin-us-sup-ct 

“Blind to History,” David H. Gans, CAC Text and History blog, January 8, 2016: http://theusconstitution.org/text-history/3556/blind-history 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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