California v. Bakke

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke,(1978) was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on affirmative action. It made quota systems in college admissions but affirms the "constitutionality" of affirmative action programs giving equal access to minorities.

Minority applicants to the University of California, Davis, Medical School went through a different admissions process than white applicants. Minority applicants who checked a box stating they wished to be considered as "economically and/or educationally disadvantaged" applicants were directed to the separate admissions committee. Bakke applied to the school in 1973 and 1974 and was denied both times. In 1973 he had a benchmark score of 468 out of 500, but no regular applicants were admitted after him with a score below 470. Bakke, however, was not considered for four special admissions slots which had not yet been filled. Bakke wrote a letter of complaint to Dr. George H. Lowrey, the Associate Dean and Chairman of the Admissions Committee, complaining the special admissions program was not what it claimed to be (a program to help the underprivileged), but a racial and ethnic quota.

Handed down on June 23, 1978, the decision of the Court was announced by Justice Lewis Powell. The court ruled 5-4 that race could be one, but only one, of numerous factors used by discriminatory boards, like those of college admissions. Powell found that quotas insulated minority applicants from competition with the regular applicants and were thus unconstitutional because they discriminated against regular applicants. This is a prime example of reverse discrimination which we discussed in class.