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Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane Gross
202-662-8600

February 17, 2003

Lawyers’ Committee to File Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court to Support University of Michigan’s Admissions Systems

Washington, D.C. - The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (“Lawyers’ Committee”) will join with other civil rights and women’s rights groups as well as minority bar associations in filing a brief before the United States Supreme Court asking it to uphold the admissions systems that the University of Michigan uses in both its law school and undergraduate institution. The brief, which will be submitted to the Court tomorrow, emphasizes the importance of diversity to institutions of higher education.

“This case is critically important to furthering educational opportunities of all the citizens of our nation,” said Barbara Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee. “As we become a more diverse nation, it is imperative that our schools, businesses, hospitals and courtrooms reflect those different perspectives,” she added.

“We need look no further than the recent census to see the diverse populations that make up the United States,” said Arnwine. “Affirmative action helps to ensure that all people in the United States, regardless of race and gender, have the tools and skills to succeed,” she continued “the economic well being of our nation depends on nothing less.”

The Lawyers’ Committee’s brief will give a historical perspective of the use of affirmative action as both a remedial effort and to foster diversity in various institutions in the United States. The brief will examine the compelling interest our nation has in eliminating the vestiges of slavery, including ongoing discrimination that is related to the features of slavery, such as the fact that laws historically criminalized the education of African-Americans. More directly, the brief will make the point that our national interest in achieving diversity can be informed by not only a person’s race or ethnicity but also the history of race and gender discrimination in our county. Finally, the brief details why the admissions programs are narrowly tailored to achieve the Universities interest in a diverse and well rounded student body.

“We believe that the policies Michigan uses to admit qualified students of color to the undergraduate institution and the law school are constitutional and should be upheld by the Court,” stated Thomas Henderson, Chief Counsel of the Lawyers’ Committee. He added “our institutions of higher education have relied on the decision in Bakke for the past 30 years, and as I think people will see from the array of briefs submitted tomorrow, so has our nation.

The Lawyers’ Committee is a 39 year old nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization. It was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. TheLawyers’ Committee has through litigation and public policy advocacy worked to protect and preserve affirmative action in higher education, employment and contracting.

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