Coalition to Def. Aff. Act. v. Regents of U of Mi.
| Decision Date | 18 March 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-15024.,No. 06-15637.,06-15024.,06-15637. |
| Citation | 539 F.Supp.2d 924 |
| Parties | COALITION TO DEFEND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, Integration and Immigration Rights and Fight for Equality by any means necessary (BAMN), United for Equality and Affirmative Action Legal Defense Fund, Rainbow Push Coalition, Calvin Jevon Cochran, Lashelle Benjamin, Beautie Mitchell, Denesha Richey, Stasia Brown, Michael Gibson, Christopher Sutton, Laquay Johnson, Turqoise Wise-King, Brandon Flannigan, Josie Human, Issamar Camacho, Kahleif Henry, Shanae Tatum, Maricruz Lopez, Alejandra Cruz, Adarene Hoag, Candice Young, Tristan Taylor, Williams Frazier, Jerell Erves, Matthew Griffith, Lacrissa Beverly, D'Shawnm Featherstone, Danielle Nelson, Julius Carter, Kevin Smith, Kyle Smith, Paris Butler, Touissant King, Aiana Scott, Allen Vonou, Randiah Green, Brittany Jones, Courtney Drake, Dante Dixon, Joseph Henry Reed, AFSCME Local 207, AFSCME Local 214, AFSCME Local 312, AFSCME Local 836, AFSCME Local 1648, AFSCME Local 2920, and the Defend Affirmative Action Party, Plaintiffs, v. The REGENTS OF The UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University, the Board of Governors of Wayne State University, the Trustees of any other public college or university, community college, or school district, Attorney General Michael Cox, and Eric Russell, Defendants, and Chase Cantrell, M.N., a minor child, by Karen Nestor, Mother and Next Friend, Karen Nestor, Mother and Next Friend of M.N., a minor child, C.U., a minor child, by Paula Uche, Mother and Next Friend, Paula Uche, Mother and Next Friend to C.U., a minor child, Joshua Kay, Sheldon Johnson, Matthew Countryman, M.R., a minor child, by Brenda Foster, Mother and Next Friend, Brenda Foster, Mother and Next Friend of M.R., a minor child, Bryon Maxey, Rachel Quinn, Kevin Gaines, Dana Christensen, T.J., a minor child, by Cathy Alfaro, Guardian and Next Friend, Cathy Alfaro, Guardian and Next Friend of T. J., a minor child, S. W., a minor child, by Michael Weisberg, Father and Next Friend, Michael Weisberg, Father and Next Friend of S. W., a minor child, Casey Kasper, Sergio Eduardo Munoz, Rosario Ceballo, Kathleen Canning, Edward Kim, M.C.C. II, a minor child, by Carolyn Carter, Mother and Next Friend, Car olyn Carter, Mother and Next Friend of M.C.C., II, a minor child, J.R., a minor child, by Matthew Robinson, Father and Next Friend, Matthew Robinson, Father and Next Friend of J.R., a minor child, Plaintiffs, v. Attorney General Michael Cox and Eric Russell, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Shanta Driver, Scheff & Washington, Jerome R. Watson, Miller, Canfield, Kary L. Moss, Mark P. Fancher, Michael J. Steinberg, American Civil Liberties Union Fund of Michigan, Melvin J. Hollowell, Jr., Allen Brothers, Reginald M. Turner, Jr., Clark Hill, Detroit, MI, Erwin S. Chemerinsky, Duke University Law School, Durham, NC, Laurence H. Tribe, Cambridge, MA, Theodore M. Shaw, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Karin A. DeMasi, Cravath, Swaine, New York, NY, for Plaintiffs.
George B. Washington, Scheff & Washington, Detroit, MI, for Plaintiffs/Defendants/Amicus/Intervenor.
Brigham C. Smith, Lansing City Attorney's Office, Lansing, MI, for Lansing City.
Laurie J. Michelson, Robin Luce Herrmann, Butzel Long, Sheldon H. Klein, Detroit, MI, Leonard M. Niehoff, Ann Arbor, MI, Heather S. Meingast, Joseph E. Potchen, Margaret A. Nelson, Michigan Department of Attorney General, Lansing, MI, Michael E. Rosman, Jesse M. Panuccio, Charles J. Cooper, Cooper & Kirk, Washington, DC, Kerry L. Morgan, Pentiuk, Couvreur, Wyandotte, MI, for Defendants.
Alan W. Foutz, Sharon L. Browne, Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento, CA, for American Civil Rights Foundation.
Brent E. Simmons, Lansing, MI, for West Michigan Minority Contractors Association, Incorporated.
William F. Young, White, Schneider, Okemos, MI, for Michigan Education Association.
The plaintiffs in these consolidated actions challenge the constitutionality of an amendment to Michigan's state constitution that was adopted by a majority vote of the electorate at the November 2006 election. The amendment, referred to throughout this opinion as Proposal 2, prohibits the State and its political subdivisions from "discriminat[ing] against, or grant[ing] preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting." Mich. Const. art. I, § 26(1). Before the Court are several dispositive motions filed by the parties, which were fully briefed and presented at oral argument held on February 6, 2008. For reasons discussed in detail below, the Court determines that there are no material fact issues that require a trial on any of the claims, and the Court must find that Proposal 2 does not violate the United States Constitution. Therefore, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the university defendants' motion to dismiss, deny the Cantrell plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, grant the attorney general's motion for summary judgment, and dismiss these consolidated cases.
In the 1960s, minority racial groups in Michigan began lobbying the University of Michigan Board of Regents to consider an applicant's race in making admissions determinations, thereby treating minority status as a positive factor. In 1992, the University of Michigan law school crafted an admission policy that used an applicant's race as one of many factors in assembling classes consisting of "a mix of students with varying backgrounds and experiences who will respect and learn from each other." Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306, 314, 123 S.Ct. 2325, 156 L.Ed.2d 304 (2003) (internal quotes omitted). The undergraduate school considered race in its admissions decisions since at least 1995. Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244, 254-55, 123 S.Ct. 2411, 156 L.Ed.2d 257 (2003).
In 1997, white applicants who were rejected under those systems challenged the state schools' admission policies in federal court, arguing that they violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because race was considered as a factor in deciding whom to admit. However, the Supreme Court eventually held that "student body diversity is a compelling state interest that can justify the use of race in university admissions." Grutter, 539 U.S. at 325, 123 S.Ct. 2325. In the case of the law school, the Court held that its admissions system "bears the hallmarks of a narrowly tailored plan," id. at 334, 123 S.Ct. 2325, and upheld it against the constitutional challenge. The Court invalidated the undergraduate school's program because it resembled a quota system bereft of the necessary individualized consideration found in the law school's program, and therefore the system was not narrowly tailored to achieve the compelling state interest. Gratz, 539 U.S. at 275-76, 123 S.Ct. 2411.
Not satisfied with that result, the plaintiff in Gratz joined forces with Ward Connerly and the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI) to place on the November 2006 statewide ballot a proposal to amend Michigan's constitution to bar programs for state school admission, public employment, and public contracting that grant preferential treatment on the basis of race or gender. The petition drive eventually was designated officially as Proposal 06-2, although throughout the process and this litigation it is known as Proposal 2, and it has been characterized by the Michigan Attorney General at oral argument in this case as an anti-affirmative action measure.
The signature-gathering phase of the initiative process generated considerable controversy. The Sixth Circuit found that Operation King's Dream v. Connerly, 501 F.3d 584, 591 (6th Cir.2007). Nevertheless, Proposal 2 was allowed to remain on the ballot, and the Michigan voters approved the constitutional amendment with approximately 57.9% of the voters in favor and 43.1% disapproving. See State Proposal-06-2: Constitutional Amendment: Ban Affirmative Action Programs, at http://miboecfr. nictusa.com/election/results/06GEN/90000002.html (last visited Feb. 10, 2008). Only three of Michigan's 83 counties rejected the measure; the rest approved it.
Proposal 2 amended the state constitution by adding the following provisions:
(1) The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and any other public college or university, community college, or school district shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.
(2) The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.
(3) For the purposes of this section "state" includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the state itself, any city, county, any public college, university, or community college, school district, or other political subdivision or...
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