Christine Charonsky for Law.com (subscription required) reports that
“The DOJ alleges Duke Law deliberately used race in admissions for its 2023–2025 entering classes.
Investigators claim Duke Law used diversity-focused essays and application `tags’ to produce admissions advantages for Black and Hispanic applicants.
The DOJ is seeking a voluntary compliance agreement, while Duke says it is reviewing the findings and remains committed to following the law.”
Finya Swai on The Hill also offers details about the Justice Department investigation into Duke University School of Law. “In a findings letter released [yesterday], the department’s Civil Rights Division said Duke Law took racial diversity into consideration when admitting students to its 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes, violating the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that severely limited the use of race in college admissions.” Here are the findings and proposed resolution:
“Findings
The Department finds that after [ the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard (SFFA) (2023)], Duke Law discriminated against other applicants to benefit applicants of preferred race classes (black and Hispanic). This discrimination is apparent from the documents expressing an intent to discriminate, plus the significant disparity in objective academic metrics between black and Hispanic applicants compared with applicants from other racial categories. Duke Law’s internal documents, including policies, and communications confirm the Department’s findings that Duke Law intended to discriminate against all racial groups except black and Hispanic applicants, to accept more black and Hispanic applicants. As a result of these practices, highly qualified white, Asian, and other students were denied admission on the basis of their race.
For these reasons, the Department concludes that Duke Law discriminated on the basis of race for the incoming classes of2023 through 2025, in violation of Title VI as interpreted by SFFA. Based on its review of Duke Law’s documents and data, the Department believes that this discrimination is ongoing.
Resolution
Having determined that Duke Law deliberately discriminated on the basis of race in its decisions to admit and deny applicants, the Department seeks to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement with the University to ensure that admissions practices are brought into legal compliance.”
