University of California Regents v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
Facts of the case: Provide key facts involving the case.
Argued on October 12, 1977
Allan Bakke, a 35-year-old white man, was denied admission twice into the University of
California Davis Medical School, even though he met or exceeded admission
requirements
University of California adopted an affirmative action program to address unfair minority
exclusions
16 spots were reserved for minority applicants
Bakke sued the University on the basis that the denials were solely due to his race
Decided June 26, 1978
History of the case: What legal action was taken based on what your state laws say about
this case?
The court found that the University of California’s use of racial quotas in the affirmative action
program was unconstitutional. After this landmark decision, UC Davis was ordered to admit
Bakke into the school.
Legal questions: What were the legal issues the court had to decide?
The legal question in this case was whether UC Davis's affirmative action program violated the
Equal Protection Clause of the 14
th
Amendment. The 14
th
Amendment provided that all born or
naturalized citizens of the United States have equal protection of the law (Greenberg & Page,
2018).
