U.S. Supreme Court justices ask sharp questions in Michigan affirmative action case

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Source: Detroit Free Press

WASHINGTON — Michigan’s solicitor general defended a change to the state constitution banning affirmative action before the U.S. Supreme Court today, saying while “diversity on campus is a goal that should be pursued,” race-based university admissions program should not automatically be protected.

Solicitor General John Bursch defended a 2006 voter referendum, known as Proposal 2, that said race and gender could not be used in admission policies at the University of Michigan and other public universities. An appellate court overturned the referendum last year saying it placed too large a burden on minorities seeking to alter admission policies because they would have to first change the state constitution.

Bursch faced a series of pointed questions from Justice Sonia Sotomayor who said “diversity on Michigan's campus has gone down” and asked him why — under the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause — minorities shouldn’t have the ability to change policies through normal means rather than being forced to rewrite the state constitution.

“It seems like the goalposts keep changing every few years for minorities,” she said. Sotomayor added that while the language of the referendum may have been race-neutral, some who sought its passage believed it would “bring back segregation in Michigan.”

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20131015/NEWS06/310150159/affirmative-action-michigan-supreme-court-argument

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1. If any one wants to read the Briefs in this case, here they are:

http://www.americanbar.org/publications/preview_home/12-682.html