Arizona’s Attorney General Tom Horne authored the principal Friend of Court Brief in matter of Michigan’s racial preferences ban before the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the Court upheld Michigan’s ban on racial preferences in college admissions, state contracts, and state employment.
The Arizona Attorney General Tom Horn stated, “Arizona, like Michigan and other states, has a voter approved ban on racial preferences in college admissions, state contracts, and state employment. The sixth circuit declared that ban unconstitutional, which is ironic, because the constitution guarantees that all individuals are entitled to equal protection of the law. Our office prepared the principal friend of court brief, joined in by other states, in the appeal to the US Supreme Court.”
Horne continued, “Today, the Supreme Court ruled 6-2 in our favor. This upholds the fundamental American principle, that we are all individuals, and that what counts is our knowledge and character, and not what race we happened to be born into. It is gratifying that the Arizona Attorney General’s office played a major role in this victory.”
The Supreme Court in a vote of 6 to 2, concluded that it was not up to judges to overturn the 2006 decision by Michigan voters to ban affirmative action.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority, “This case is not about how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved. It is about who may resolve it. There is no authority in the Constitution of the United States or in this court’s precedents for the judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit this policy determination to the voters.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent, “Today’s decision eviscerates an important strand of our equal protection jurisprudence. For members of historically marginalized groups, which rely on the federal courts to protect their constitutional rights, the decision can hardly bolster hope for a vision of democracy that preserves for all the right to participate meaningfully and equally in self-government.”
Justice Stephen G. Breyer found that if voters or their representatives have the right to adopt race-conscious policies then they have the right to decide not to.
Michigan’s Attorney General Bill Schuette praised the decision to uphold Article I, Section 26 of the Michigan Constitution, otherwise known as the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI). “Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is monumental. The ruling is a victory for the Constitution, a victory for Michigan citizens, and a victory for the rule of law.
“In 2006, the citizens of Michigan enshrined the basic concept of equality and fairness into our Constitution,” said Schuette. “It is fundamentally wrong to treat people differently based on the color of their skin. The U.S. Supreme Court heard the voices of equality and the voices of the People.”