A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking Harvard University’s admissions records. The records were requested as part of an investigation into whether the university still considers race when making admissions decisions.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun said the Justice Department had not shown that it followed the required procedures before filing suit. His decision dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning the administration can bring another lawsuit if it addresses the problems the court identified.
“The Government may be able to identify a qualifying determination or cure the procedural deficiency, but it has not supplied a sufficient basis for the judicial relief currently sought,” Joun wrote.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in February, alleging Harvard had not cooperated with a federal civil rights investigation. The review is examining whether the university’s admissions practices comply with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision restricting the use of race in college admissions.
According to the department, Harvard repeatedly delayed providing requested documents and did not turn over individual applicant records despite multiple requests and extended deadlines. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the time that the university had withheld information needed to determine whether its admissions process was free of discrimination.
Joun acknowledged that federal officials had made several requests and warned Harvard that enforcement action was possible. But he said the government’s court filings did not adequately show that officials had completed the necessary steps before asking a judge to intervene.
Among other issues, the complaint did not allege that officials had told Harvard they would sue if it failed to comply. It also did not sufficiently specify the compliance failure at the center of the case, Joun found.
The judge said the Department of Education had also failed to demonstrate that it followed its required procedures before referring a separate admissions investigation for judicial enforcement.
Harvard’s lawyers argued that the lawsuit was part of a broader effort to retaliate against the university after it resisted administration demands involving its governance and academic policies. Joun did not decide that claim, emphasizing that his ruling concerned procedure, not whether Harvard had violated federal civil rights law.
“Nothing in this decision converts the Government’s request for information into an accusation of present discrimination or resolves Harvard’s underlying Title VI compliance,” he wrote.
