News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Opinions
Sports
Diversions
World News
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Classifieds
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
News
Supreme Court will look at law, not names
Published:
Thursday, February 20, 2003
Maryanne George
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The U.S. Supreme Court is more interested in the content of the legal arguments than the names and numbers of supporters for the University of Michigan's race conscious admission policy, legal experts said Tuesday.
Redundant legal arguments from individuals, businesses and organizations supporting U-M's position in defense of its admissions policy won't make it past the justices' law clerks, the experts said.
Last month, President George W. Bush was the most notable among those meeting the deadline to file briefs supporting three white applicants who said they were denied admission to U-M in 1997 in favor of less qualified minorities.
This week, an impressive list of powerful supporters, ranging from retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and Coretta Scott King to General Motors and Microsoft corporations, said they were filing legal briefs in U-M's defense.
In total, more than 300 organizations have signed about 65 briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments on April 1 in two cases filed against U-M. Because a winter storm shut down Washington, D.C., Tuesday's filing deadline was extended until midnight. The 85 briefs from supporters on both sides to date could set a court record.
Robert Sedler, a Wayne State University law professor and constitutional expert, said the Supreme Court doesn't need a lot of legal briefs to know that "the country is divided" on the issue of racial preferences.
"They are the Supreme Court; they are deciding the cases based on the law and good briefs that are filed," said Sedler. "They will not be influenced by the fact that President Bush says U-M's policies are unconstitutional or that Fortune 500 companies favor affirmative action."
Sedler wrote one of 54 amicus briefs for the high court on behalf of law professors in the landmark 1978 Bakke case. The court struck down quotas in that case but permitted the use of race as a factor in admissions.
While the Supreme Court can handle quantities of briefs, the justices' law clerks will do the first read, Sedler said.
"If they find something new or an argument that hasn't been made by the parties in the cases they will bring that to the attention of the justices," Sedler said.
Privacy Policy
Network Advertising
Article Syndication
