Non-Strict Strict Scrutiny: The Fifth Circuit and the Grutter standard in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin

Abstract

On January 18, 2011, in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a university’s admissions policy was constitutional because it had a compelling interest in achieving a critical mass of minority students and did not strive for outright racial balancing for its own sake. Although the Fifth Circuit’s holding aligns with the Supreme Court’s standard in Grutter v. Bollinger, it exemplifies how Grutter discourages universities from experimenting to create better race-conscious admissions policies.