Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
Citation and Court
570 U.S. 297 (2013) (Fisher I); 579 U.S. 365 (2016) (Fisher II) — Supreme Court of the United States
Facts
Abigail Fisher, a white Texas resident, was denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin. UT admitted most Texas students through a Top Ten Percent Plan (guaranteed admission to top 10% of each high school class) and considered race as one factor among many for remaining seats. Fisher sued, alleging that UT’s use of race in admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause.
Issue
Whether the University of Texas’s race-conscious holistic admissions program for non-top-ten-percent applicants satisfies strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.
Holding
In Fisher I, the Court vacated and remanded, holding that the Fifth Circuit had not applied sufficiently rigorous strict scrutiny. In Fisher II, the Court upheld UT’s admissions program on remand, finding it narrowly tailored to achieve the compelling interest in diversity.
Rule / Doctrine
Strict scrutiny applies to all race-conscious government action, including university admissions. Courts may defer to universities’ good-faith judgments about what constitutes a diverse student body (compelling interest), but must rigorously evaluate whether the means (the race-conscious program) are narrowly tailored and no workable race-neutral alternatives could achieve the same educational benefits.
Significance
Fisher I and II are the last major affirmative action cases before Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), which overruled Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) and effectively ended race-conscious admissions in higher education. Fisher II represents the high-water mark of the Grutter framework in practice.