“Now the electorate knows that once it puts a clause in the Constitution forbidding the government from making a decision based on race – ya know, that thing that the Civil War that was supposed to have resolved – even the elites in the public universities will have to comply with it,” said Napolitano.
In a 6-2 ruling, the Supreme Court decided Tuesday that Michigan voters have the right to change their state constitution to prohibit public colleges and universities from taking race into account in admissions decisions. The justices said that a lower federal court was wrong to set aside the change as discriminatory.
Justice Anthony Kennedy said voters chose to eliminate racial preferences because they deemed them unwise. Kennedy said nothing in the Constitution or the court’s prior cases gives judges the authority to undermine the election results.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented. Judge Andrew Napolitano agreed with the majority, explaining his thoughts on the case this afternoon with Eric Shawn.
Napolitano pointed out that the ruling gives voters the authority to decide whether they want state institutions to implement affirmative action. He believes this could now spread to other states.
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