Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Allan Bakke, a white applicant, challenged the University of California Medical School’s admissions program, which reserved seats for minority applicants. The Supreme Court struck down strict racial quotas as unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause but upheld the use of race as one factor among many in admissions.

3) Why It Mattered
This was the Court’s first major ruling on affirmative action. It established that while rigid quotas are unconstitutional, race-conscious admissions policies can be permissible to promote diversity.

4) What It Provided or Took Away

• Provided: A framework allowing limited affirmative action in higher education.
• Took Away: The ability of schools to use strict racial quotas in admissions.

5) Overreach or Proper Role?
The fractured decision tried to strike a middle ground. Some saw it as activism, others as pragmatic — but it set precedent that shaped affirmative action law for decades.

6) Plain-English Impact Today
Colleges could consider race in admissions to foster diversity, but they could not reserve seats solely based on race. Later cases refined and limited this balance further.

• Equal Protection
• Affirmative Action
• Education
• Civil Rights