Supreme Court explains its rejection of Harvard and UNC's admissions programs
Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
The majority justifies its ruling by finding insufficiently measurable objectives, negative use of race, racial stereotyping and a lack of meaningful endpoints in Harvard and UNC's programs.
“For the reasons provided above, the Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today.”
Original text
Where this statement fits
Was the Supreme Court right to reject Harvard and UNC's race-conscious admissions programs?
The Supreme Court invalidated Harvard's and UNC's challenged admissions programs on June 29, 2023. The majority said their use of race failed equal-protection requirements. The dissents argued that the decision misunderstood equality and would deepen racial inequality in education.
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Original text
About this source
The majority, concurrences and dissents address the challenged admissions programs. Jackson participates only in the UNC case.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The majority concludes its analysis by stating why it finds the challenged admissions programs incompatible with equal protection.
After the quotation
The majority says its opinion should not be read as prohibiting discussion of how race affected an applicant's life. It says universities may not recreate the unlawful regime through application essays.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case examines the Court's decision to reject the programs. This passage gives the majority's reasons for that decision, so it defends the ruling. The programs it criticizes are the subject of the ruling, not the action this case asks readers to evaluate.
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More from this case
Read the full caseJackson says legal colorblindness does not remove real inequality
“But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”Read statement
Sotomayor says the ruling entrenches racial inequality
“The Court subverts the constitutional guarantee of equal protection by further entrenching racial inequality in education, the very foundation of our democratic government and pluralistic society. Because the Court’s opinion is not grounded in law or fact and contravenes the vision of equality embodied in the Fourteenth Amendment, I dissent.”Read statement
Kavanaugh defends the admissions ruling through Grutter's time limit
“In light of the Constitution’s text, history, and precedent, the Court’s decision today appropriately respects and abides by Grutter’s explicit temporal limit on the use of race-based affirmative action in higher education.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Supreme Court explains its rejection of Harvard and UNC's admissions programs". First published: 2026-10-19. Last updated: 2026-10-19. https://disputeindex.com/events/6074-the-majority-justifies-its-ruling-by-finding-insufficiently