Legal Briefs

Following you will find legal information about civil rights cases and constitutional requirements in subjects such as educational diversity, affirmative action, and race-conscious policies:

Amicus Curiae Brief in support of Louisvile School District (in PDF Format)

In November 2004, The Civil Rights Project filed an Amicus Curiae brief in support of the Louisville School District. CRP’s brief focuses both on the social science research on the issue of the educational and social benefits of desegregation, and on the extensive record developed on the benefits of the Louisville plan in particular. The brief also argues that the Louisville plan is narrowly tailored and that the standards for considering narrow tailoring in the K-12 context should more carefully fit the realities of K-12 education. November 10, 2004

Amicus Curiae Brief in Comfort Hancock v. Driscoll (in PDF Format)

In August 2004, The Civil Rights Project filed an amicus brief in support of the Hancock plaintiffs against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The brief highlighted our research depicting the confluence of racial isolation and high poverty in Massachusetts. We argued that under the Massachusetts constitution far too many students in high poverty districts, and especially minority students, are receiving an inadequate education. August 26, 2004

Amicus Curiae Brief in Comfort v. Lynn School Committe (in PDF Format)

The Civil Rights Project filed a brief in June 2004 in support of the Lynn School Committee and state defendants in the case of Comfort v. Lynn School Committee, a challenge to the voluntary integration plan in Lynn, Massachusetts that is currently on appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. July 28, 2004

Amicus Curiae Briefs in University of Michigan Law School Admissions Cases

AERA, AAHE and AAC&U filed amicus briefs, prepared on their behalf by Angelo Ancheta with assistance from other CRP staff. The briefs summarize the social science evidence bearing on the central constitutional questions of affirmative action before the Supreme Court. February 28, 2003

Amicus Curiae Brief in Grutter v. Bollinger (University of Michigan Law School Admissions Case) (in PDF Format)

The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University submits this brief as amicus curiae in support of Appellants Lee Bollinger, et al., urging reversal of the district court’s ruling that the University of Michigan Law School’s admissions policy is unconstitutional. Specifically, The Civil Rights Project asks the Court to reverse the district court’s holdings that promoting educational diversity is not a compelling governmental interest and that the Law School’s admissions policy is not narrowly tailored to meet the compelling interest in promoting diversity. May 29, 2001

Amicus Curiae Brief in Gratz v. Bollinger (University of Michigan Undergraduate Admissions Case) (in PDF Format)

The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University submits this brief as amicus curiae in support of Defendants Lee Bollinger, et al., urging this Court to uphold the constitutionality of the University of Michigan’s race-conscious undergraduate admissions policies. Specifically, The Civil Rights Project asks the Court to affirm the district court’s holding that promoting educational diversity is a compelling governmental interest, to affirm the court’s holding that the current admissions policy is narrowly tailored, and to reverse the court’s holding that the admissions policy employed from 1995 to 1998 was not narrowly tailored. May 29, 2001