Editor’s note: Anthony Collings is a former CNN Supreme Court correspondent who now teaches a seminar evaluating Supreme Court news coverage, as a lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies.
The U-M admissions cases could make legal history. They are the first such cases before the Supreme Court since it said in Bakke in 1978 that universities may not use quotas but may take race into account in admissions. Now the U-M Law School and LSA cases could provide landmark rulings affecting all U.S. universities.
Here is the sequence of events in the cases:
On Dec. 2 the court “granted cert” (agreed to hear appeals against U-M’s victories in lower courts). On Jan. 16 the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), a law firm representing unsuccessful white applicants for admission to U-M, filed briefs (written arguments) asking the court to rule against U-M’s affirmative action policy. The same day, “amici” (friends of the court, or supporters of one side) filed briefs supporting CIR’s position. The Bush administration also filed a brief supporting CIR’s position.
Feb. 18 is the deadline for U-M and its own amici to file briefs. On April 1 there will be two hours of oral arguments, one hour for the Law School case followed by an hour for the LSA case. The attorney for each side usually has 30 minutes. Often the attorney is interrupted by questions from the justices. Journalists take notes and do sketches but may not use recording devices, and there is no television camera in court. The court makes an audio recording for later deposit in the National Archives. (Past arguments are at http://www.oyez.org/cases/cases.cgi.)
On the Friday of the week the U-M case is heard, the nine justices will meet behind closed doors and take a preliminary vote. If the chief justice is in the majority, he decides who writes the court’s opinion of the rationale as to why U-M’s lower-court victories should or should not be upheld. If the chief is not in the majority, the senior justice in the majority assigns the opinion. Whoever is assigned begins writing and circulates drafts while other justices in the majority indicate whether they will join (add their names to the main opinion) or concur (write separate opinions giving different rationales).
Sometime before July—usually in mid- to late-June for major cases—the court will announce the outcome. The majority opinions, concurrences and dissents will be posted on the court’s Web site, http://www.supremecourtus.gov/. How much impact the decisions will have depends on whether they are sweeping or narrow as the court considers the future of affirmative action.
