The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday denied a request to prevent the United States Military Academy at West Point from using race as a factor in admissions decisions.
A court ruled in June that universities, with the exception of the U.S. Military Academy, can no longer practice affirmative action.
The high court said the university violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause with this practice.
At the time, SCOTUS defeated affirmative action policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina in a victory for Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA).
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request to prevent the United States Military Academy at West Point from using race as a factor in admissions decisions. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/File)
The Supreme Court on Friday granted SFFA’s emergency request to force the military academy to suspend training while a lower court hears a lawsuit filed in September against West Point. The student group also sued the Naval Academy.
“The petition for a writ of injunction on appeal filed with Justice Sotomayor and referred to the court by her is denied.The record before this court is not well maintained, and this order does not provide any opinion on the merits of the constitutional question. It should not be construed as stating: “I have read Friday’s order.
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In an emergency motion filed last week, SFFA argued that West Point is not “exempt” from the Harvard decision. The petition states that if the injunction is not granted, the academy “will unlawfully discriminate against thousands of 2028 applicants, including two of SFFA’s 26 members.” It claims that two White West Point applicants will suffer “irreparable harm.” their skin color. ”
“Should these young Americans bear the burden of West Point’s unchecked racism? Or should West Point bear the burden of temporarily complying with the Constitution’s racial equality mandate?” SFFA ‘s attorney sent a letter to the judge.
U.S. Attorney General Elizabeth Preloger defended the policy in a court filing Tuesday. “For more than 40 years, our nation’s military leaders have determined that a diverse Army officer corps is a national security imperative. Requires limited consideration of race in selecting individuals to enlist as West Point. ”
In response to SFFA, the government asked the court to deny SFFA’s request.
“The injunction sought by SFFA would force the Army to abandon policies that military leaders deemed essential to developing an effective fighting force, thereby undermining the “public interest in national defense.” It will be,” Preloger wrote.
The petition was filed after a federal judge in New York rejected SFFA’s request earlier this month, saying the group had failed to prove it was likely to end up doing so. win a lawsuit.
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SFFA had asked the court to issue a decision by next Wednesday, the deadline for West Point’s application. Preloger argued that West Point’s application process was already well underway and that the injunction would cause “significant disruption.”
FOX News’ Tenny Sahakian contributed to this report.
