Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has announced that he has joined twenty other attorneys general from across the country in sending a letter to the American Bar Association demanding that it put an end to a discriminatory policy affecting law school applicants.
The accrediting body of American law schools, the ABA, is currently forcing the institutions to choose between securing accreditation through racial discrimination, denying some of the most qualified applicants, or adhering to the Constitution.
“Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision which made clear that ‘the core purpose of the Equal Protection Clause’ is ‘doing away with all governmentaly imposed discrimination based on race,’” said Marshall. “It’s ironic that an organization committed to a mission of ‘defending liberty and pursuing justice,’ seeks to justify the discrimination against prospective law students based on the color of their skin.”
The ABA’s mandate is set out in Standard 206 of its Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools 2023–2024. The letter explains that Standard 206 cannot be squared with the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA).
Marshall said that even if the intent behind Standard 206’s racial-preference regime is benign, it cannot lawfully be implemented in its current or revised forms. The ABA is reportedly considering revisions to the standard as a result of the ruling, but the proposed changes include the unlawful requirement that law schools engage in race-based admissions and hiring.
Marshall was joined in the lawsuit by Attorney Generals from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.