Ms. Fisher graduated from Louisiana State University this year, so there is good reason for the court to dismiss the case: her lawsuit is not a class action, and the only claim that remains is for the return of her $100 application fee. But eight justices (Elena Kagan is recused) will consider her contention that the University of Texas’ effort to create a racial mix in the student body that more closely matches that of the state population violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In 2008, the university admitted about four-fifths of its freshman class by automatically taking the top 10 percent of graduates from every public high school. The state adopted the strategy to increase minority admissions after the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down race-conscious admissions there in 1996. But the university concluded that the 10 percent program left minority representation at too low a level for “the full benefits of diversity to occur.”
