Adarand Constructors v. Peña

Adarand Constructors v. Peña, 515 U.S. 200 (1995), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

The federal government’s program giving contracting preferences to ‘socially and economically disadvantaged’ businesses (presumed to include racial minorities) was challenged by Adarand Constructors, a white-owned company that lost a subcontract after a prime contractor received a financial incentive to use a minority-owned firm.

Significance

Justice O’Connor’s 5-4 opinion held that all racial classifications imposed by any level of government — federal, state, or local — must be reviewed under strict scrutiny. This overruled Metro Broadcasting v. FCC (1990), which had applied intermediate scrutiny to federal affirmative action programs. Adarand established a uniform standard of strict scrutiny for all racial classifications, though the Court emphasized that strict scrutiny is not ‘strict in theory, but fatal in fact’ and that compelling government interests could justify race-conscious measures.

Category

US Federal Case Law