· Case: Bakke v. California Board of Regents
· Year: 1978
· Result: 5-4, favor Bakke
· Related Constituitonal issue/amendment: 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964
· Civil Rights or Civil Liberties: Civil Rights
· Significance/precedent: The University of California was forced to accept Bakke into the university; the Court weakened the strong oppostion the Whites had against having equal rights for them and minorities and made it easier for the Civil Rights Movement to gain strength. Also, the Court ruled that the special admissions program was unconstitutional for using race as the only determining factor. But, it could use race as a plus.
· Quote from major opinion:
The two 5 majority opinions delivered by Justice Powell were:
- "The special admissions program with a fixed quota or number of places
available only to minorities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Those places were denied to white applicants based only on their race. The
university's policy was struck down and the university was ordered to admit
Bakke." - "Admissions programs do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment if they consider race as one of several factors used to
decide admission. Therefore, race may be considered but it may not be the only
factor considered."
· Illustation/image: See Below
· 6- Word Summary: Minimize White oppostion; 14th Amendement equality