Supreme Court OUTLAWS Affirmative Action
We’ve got breaking news to report today as the U.S. Supreme Court just issued two MAJOR rulings, including a victory for religious liberty.
First, the Supreme Court essentially just OUTLAWED Affirmative Action, stating that colleges cannot use race as a determining factor in a potential student’s acceptance or denial to their school.
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a major ruling on affirmative action Thursday, rejecting the use of race as a factor in college admissions as a violation of the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
In a 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that, "A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination."
"Or a benefit to a student whose heritage or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university. In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race," the opinion reads . . . Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice," the opinion states.
Not surprisingly, high-profile radical voices on the Left are losing their minds, criticizing the ruling as racist. Of course they’re ignoring that one particular case involved in this ruling involved Asian-American students who were reportedly rejected from Harvard because of their race in a seemingly blatant example of discrimination. Harvard essentially decided it had too many Asian students and rejected these applicants despite impressive GPAs and high SAT scores. That is racial discrimination – clear and simple – as a result of Affirmative Action. The ruling basically states that potential students must be considered for their individual achievements and qualifications, not merely the color of their skin or race. This was a case in which the ACLJ filed a critical amicus brief at the Supreme Court.
In another major opinion, the Supreme Court ruled that employers must accommodate the religious rights of workers, after a U.S. postal worker’s request to have Sundays off in order to attend church services was denied.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously for a postal worker in Pennsylvania in an important religious liberty dispute, over how far employers should go to accommodate faith-based requests in the workplace.
We are particularly pleased by this decision as the ACLJ took direct action in this case. As we reported last year:
[T]he American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving protection for employee religious freedom in the workplace. The case, Groff v. DeJoy, involved a Christian postal worker, Gerald Groff, who wanted to observe Sunday as his day of rest. For years, the U.S. Postal Service accommodated his religious convictions and did not assign him any Sunday shifts. Eventually, that accommodation stopped after the Postal Service began to deliver Amazon packages on weekends. Even though Mr. Groff offered to work extra shifts, the post office still insisted on assigning him Sunday work. Groff declined to work the Sunday shifts assigned to him and the post office imposed various disciplinary measures. Mr. Groff sued and lost before the trial court and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court will make it easier for employees to exercise their constitutional right to religious freedom and accommodation. The Court rejected the prior flawed standard which allowed employers to reject religious accommodations for even the slightest hardship. This ruling will positively impact numerous ACLJ cases.
Today’s full Sekulow broadcast includes further analysis of both of these Supreme Court decisions.
Watch the full broadcast below: