Final Flashcards
What decision was made in Brown II?
The court took a gradualist approach, allowing the district courts to decide how vigorously to force the desegregation of schools.
What was the context of Bakke?
UCD had a quota system, which reserved 16 out of 100 seats for minority students. Bakke was rejected twice, and claimed that the quota system broke the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.
What was the outcome of Bakke?
There was a majority decision, but not a majority opinion. Four justices thought that the RCAA plan was illegal, but Brennon thought it was unconstitutional.
Powell applied Strict Scrutiny standard of review because he believed the AA plan involved invidious discrimination. This meant that the AA plan was malicious, hostile, or damaging to a specific group of people.
He argued that the need to reduce the shortage of minority doctors was not a compelling state interest. If the reason was to right past wrongs against minorities, then the school would have to show that they caused the wrongs.
He said that it was not narrowly tailored because the seats were only saved for minority students who were racial minorities and not minorities of socio-economic status, etc.
What was Brennon’s dissent in Bakke?
Brennon believed that only benign discrimination was being used by UCD, and therefore only intermediate standard of review is triggered.
What is the difference between invidious and benign discrimination?
Invidious discrimination is malicious and hostile towards a specific group of people, while benign is not.
What is the context of Grutter?
University of Michigan Law School was stating that they weren’t doing a quota system, but were giving special emphasis to race.
What was the outcome in Grutter?
In a 5-4 decision, the court upheld the AA plan. O’Conner claimed that she was using the same standard of review as Powell in Bakke, but it is skeptical at best if she actually applied it. She said it was a compelling state interest because:
- it will promote racial understanding
- it will break down negative racial stereotypes
- facilitate livelier and more enlightening classroom discussions.
She said it was narrowly tailored because:
- legal education has to include greater cultural awareness, and a greater diversity will facilitate that.
What was the context of Gratz?
The school gave an extra 20 points to their score system to individuals who were an underrepresented minority. This led to every black individual being admitted. Strict Scrutiny Standard of Review was used.
What was the outcome of Gratz?
Renquist wrote the majority opinion. The AA plan was found unconstitutional. The court found that it was not narrowly tailored because it only covered those of a racial minority group.
What is the difference between Grutter and Gratz?
Grutter did not have a published means of their AA plan, they only said that it was considered. Gratz has an objective means of adding points to their racial minority’s score.
What was the outcome of Fisher I?
The court found that RCAA plans trigger ‘old school strict scrutiny’ which was similar to what was used in Grutter.
What was the context of Craig v Boren and what standard of review was used?
The court was trying to figure out whether banning the sale of beer to people based on gender breaks the equal protection clause. This case triggered intermediate scrutiny standard review.
What was the outcome of Craig v. Boren?
Brennon wrote the opinion of the court and found gender classifications made by the Oklahoma statute were unconstitutional because the statistics relied on by the state were insufficient to show a substantial relationship between the statute and the benefits intended to stem from it. This created a new standard of review heightened from RB, called intermediate scrutiny.
What are the two qualifications for intermediate scrutiny?
Must show an important government interest, and must be substantially related to that interest.
What is the context of US v. Virgina (VMI)
The Virginia Military School wanted to bar women from entering the academy because they felt as though the physical training, hazing, and lack of privacy wasn’t suited for women.
