| Regents of the University of California v. Bakke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued October 12, 1977 Decided June 28, 1978 | |
| Full case name | Regents of the University of California v. Allan Bakke |
| Citations | 438 U.S. 265 (more) 98 S. Ct. 2733; 57 L. Ed. 2d 750; 1978 U.S. LEXIS 5; 17 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1000; 17 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) ¶ 8402 |
| Decision | Opinion |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Certiorari to the Supreme Court of California, Bakke v. Regents of the University of California, 18 Cal. 3d 34, 132 Cal. Rptr. 680, 553 P.2d 1152 (1976); stay granted, 429 U.S. 953 (1977); cert. granted, 429 U.S. 1090 (1977). |
| Holding | |
| Bakke was ordered admitted to UC Davis Medical School, and the school's practice of reserving 16 seats for minority students was struck down. Judgment of the Supreme Court of California reversed insofar as it forbade the university from taking race into account in admissions. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Powell (Parts I and V–C), joined by Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun |
| Plurality | Powell (Part III–A), joined by White |
| Concurrence | Powell (Parts II, III–B, III–C, IV, V–A, V–B, and VI) |
| Concur/dissent | Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun |
| Concur/dissent | White |
| Concur/dissent | Marshall |
| Concur/dissent | Blackmun |
| Concur/dissent | Stevens, joined by Burger, Stewart, Rehnquist |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 | |
Abrogated by | |
| Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023) Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina (2023) | |
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that involved a dispute of whether preferential treatment for minorities could reduce educational opportunities for whites without violating the Constitution. It upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy. However, the court ruled that specific racial quotas, such as the 16 out of 100 seats set aside for minority students by the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, were impermissible.
Although the Supreme Court had outlawed segregation in schools by the Brown v. Board of Education decision and had ordered school districts to take steps to assure integration, the question of the legality of voluntary affirmative action programs initiated by universities remained unresolved. Proponents deemed such programs necessary to make up for past discrimination, while opponents believed they were illegal and a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. An earlier case that the Supreme Court had taken in an attempt to address the issue, DeFunis v. Odegaard (1974), was dismissed on procedural grounds.
Allan P. Bakke (/ˈbɑːki/), an engineer and former Marine officer, sought admission to medical school but was rejected for admission partly because of his age — Bakke was in his early 30s while applying, which at least two institutions considered too old. After twice being rejected by the University of California, Davis, he brought suit in state court challenging the constitutionality of the school's affirmative-action program. The California Supreme Court struck down the program as violative of the rights of white applicants and ordered Bakke admitted. The U.S. Supreme Court accepted the case amid wide public attention.
The ruling on the case was highly fractured. The nine justices issued a total of six opinions. The judgment of the court was written by Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.; two different blocs of four justices joined various parts of Powell's opinion. Finding diversity in the classroom to be a compelling state interest, Powell opined that affirmative action in general was allowed under the Constitution and the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Nevertheless, UC Davis's program went too far for a majority of justices; it was struck down and Bakke was admitted. The practical effect of Bakke was that most affirmative action programs continued without change. Questions about whether the Bakke case was merely a plurality opinion or binding precedent were addressed in 2003 when the court upheld Powell's position in the majority opinion of Grutter v. Bollinger. However, in 2023, the Supreme Court reversed that position, finding that affirmative action in student admissions impermissibly violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.