High Court Takes On a New Affirmative Action Case - Higher Education

High Court Takes On a New Affirmative Action Case - Higher Education: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s decision to hear a new case from Michigan on the politically charged issue of affirmative action offers an intriguing hint that the justices will not use a separate challenge already pending from Texas for a broad ruling bringing an end to the consideration of race in college admissions.

To be sure, the two cases involve different legal issues. The University of Texas dispute, with arguments already completed and a ruling possible soon, centers on the use of race to fill some slots in the school’s freshman classes. The Michigan case asks whether a voter-approved ban on affirmative action in college admissions can itself violate the Constitution.

But the broadest possible outcome in the current Texas case overruling the court’s 2003 decision that allows race as a factor in college admissions would mean an end to affirmative action in higher education and render the new Michigan lawsuit irrelevant.