Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Allen Bakke was a thirty-five year old white male who had applied twice for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis and was rejected both times. The University of California Medical School at Davis reserved sixteen places in each entering class of one hundred for "qualified" minorities, as part of the school's affirmative action program, that aimed to redress longstanding, unfair minority exclusions from the medical profession. Allen Bakke's qualifications exceeded those of the minority students admitted in the two years Bakke's applications were rejected and this is one of many arguments that Bakke's defense team made in favor of him.

The Board of Regents of the University of California Medical School at Davis argued that African Americans suffered centuries of slavery that gave them a disadvantage in gaining a fair and equal education and that the affirmative action program was put in place to give back to minorities and give them a chance to get a college education. They also begin to argue that the Civil Rights Movement not only called for desegregation but also for the implementation of programs that gave African Americans special advantages in the workforce and in education.

Allen Bakke's team argued that admissions should be based on academics not skin color and that the Civil Rights Movement was about equal and neutral opportunity. They used the 14th Amendment, under the equal protection clause, that it was all about equal opportunity not equal outcomes. They emphasized that their must be equal and fair action in admissions and we should all leave under the same rights and policies rather than giving minorities the upper hand.

The Supreme Court ruled any racial quota system violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Chief Justice Lewi F. Powell Jr. casted the deciding vote and ordered the University of California Medical School at Davis to admit Bakke immediately based on his exceptional qualifications, including his academic experience and his college entrance exam scores. They also concluded that race could be one of several admission criteria but couldn't be the deciding choice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIeAvXFfVdU