CASE BRIEF
In Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
, the United States Supreme Court found that the University of Michigan utilized race as a contributing factor for admission, however, that violated the Fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution therefore unconstitutional. The Court then went on to state that race cannot be a contributing or
sole factor for admission.
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE AND APPEALS COURT
In the fall of 1995 and fall of 1997, two Michigan residents were denied admission to the University of Michigan. In October of 1997, they filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. They claimed that the university violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. It was then appealed to the United States Supreme Court in 2003, where
it was argued in April and decided in June of the same year. The Supreme Court confirmed the District Court ruling.
MICHIGAN STATE COURT
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
could not have been appealed to the Michigan State
Court because the case concerned an alleged violation of the United States
Constitution. Due to the allegation that the university violated the Fourteenth
Amendment, the case had to be adjudicated in the Supreme Court.
