Audio Clip
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has requested a panel of judges reaffirm that affirmative action is unconstitutional.
As Michigan Public Radio's Laura Weber reports, the request comes after U-S Court of Appeals decision earlier this month that ruled banning affirmative action is unconstitutional.
The U-S Court of Appeals ruled that the Michigan constitutional amendment that bans affirmative action in public university admissions violates the 14th Amendment of the U-S Constitution. Attorney General Schuette said the ruling makes no sense.
"And it was a nutty decision that in essence said it is racially discriminatory to prohibit racial discrimination."
Schuette has asked a larger panel of judges to overturn the Court of Appeals decision, and expects to have an answer this fall. He said universities should accept students based on achievement and the state should make sure all K-through-12 students graduate with a good education, no matter where they live or what their ethnicity.
But the University of Michigan was a major voice in the fight to protect affirmative action. And representatives from the university and the American Civil Liberties Union said they hope the panel denies Schuette's request.
