Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

The UC Davis Medical School reserved 16 of 100 seats for disadvantaged minority applicants. Allan Bakke, a white applicant with higher scores than most admitted minority candidates, was rejected twice. He sued, arguing the program violated the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Significance

The Court issued a fractured 4-1-4 decision. Justice Powell’s controlling opinion held that racial quotas are unconstitutional but that race could be considered as one factor among many in admissions to achieve educational diversity. Powell analogized to Harvard’s holistic admissions model. This ‘diversity rationale’ governed affirmative action in higher education for decades until Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023) overruled Bakke and held that race-based admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause.

Category

US Federal Case Law