Hispanic National Bar Association News
News from the HNBA on June 24, 2013: WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today in a 7-1 decision in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed that diversity in higher education is a compelling national interest. Specifically, the decision in the precedent Grutter v. Bollinger case stands, which allows racial and ethnic diversity to be considered as one of many factors in admission to schools. Last summer the HNBA joined an amicus brief showing the progress that has been made since the Grutter decision, while noting the need to consider race and ethnicity in order to continue to diversify the profession. The Court partially vacated the lower court ruling to partially consider race and remanded back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for re-consideration. The Supreme Court partially vacated a lower court ruling that had upheld the right of the University of Texas at Austin to partially consider race in its admissions’ policy. However, in deciding Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, it left intact the precedent it set in Grutter v. Bollinger, which allows schools to consider racial diversity as an admissions factor. This past summer, CBAC filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case. The brief highlights the progress made in diversifying the legal profession since the Court’s ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, while discussing the continued need for race-conscious admissions programs to further the diversification of the legal profession. “The HNBA’s position on the importance of considering race and ethnicity as one of many factors in admission was upheld by a strong majority of the Supreme Court today,” stated Peter M. Reyes, Jr., National President of the HNBA. “Diversity in our academic institutions remains a compelling interest that will strengthen our communities, including the legal profession.”