Gratz v. Bollinger

Gratz v. Bollinger
Argued April 1, 2003
Decided June 23, 2003
Full case nameJennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher v. Lee Bollinger, et al.
Docket no.02-516
Citations539 U.S. 244 (more)
123 S. Ct. 2411; 156 L. Ed. 2d 257; 2003 U.S. LEXIS 4801; 71 U.S.L.W. 4480; 91 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1803; 84 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) ¶ 41,416; 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Service 5362; 16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 387
Case history
PriorSummary judgment granted in part to plaintiffs, 122 F. Supp. 2d 811 (E.D. Mich. 2000); Summary judgment granted to plaintiffs, 135 F. Supp. 2d 790 (E.D. Mich. 2001); consolidated on appeal with Grutter v. Bollinger before en banc court, 277 F.3d 803 (6th Cir. 2001); cert. before judgment granted, 537 U.S. 1044 (2002).
SubsequentOn remand, 80 Fed. App'x 417 (6th Cir. 2003)
Holding
A state university's admission policy violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because its ranking system gave an automatic point increase to all racial minorities rather than making individual determinations.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityRehnquist, joined by O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas
ConcurrenceO'Connor, joined by Breyer (in part)
ConcurrenceThomas
ConcurrenceBreyer (in judgment)
DissentStevens, joined by Souter
DissentSouter, joined by Ginsburg (in part)
DissentGinsburg, joined by Souter, Breyer (in part)
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV

Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244 (2003), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the University of Michigan undergraduate affirmative action admissions policy. In a 6–3 decision announced on June 23, 2003, Chief Justice Rehnquist, writing for the Court, ruled the University's point system's "predetermined point allocations" that awarded 20 points towards admission to underrepresented minorities "ensures that the diversity contributions of applicants cannot be individually assessed" and was therefore unconstitutional.[1]

  1. ^ Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244 (2003).