The Justice Department is accusing Duke University School of Law of favoring Black and Hispanic applicants over White and Asian applicants with the same academic records in its admissions process, which the Trump administration argues the law school used to meet its “diversity goals.”
“Duke Law School doesnt get a free pass to discriminate against white and Asian students simply because it thinks it has good intentions,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA) that it was unconstitutional for colleges and higher education institutions to consider a student’s race in their admissions processes. The decision prompted the Trump administration to open investigations into alleged race-based discrimination at dozens of colleges and universities.
The Civil Rights Division, which began investigating Duke Law in April 2025, found that Black applicants who applied in 2025 had roughly 3.5 times the chance of admission as Asian applicants with the same academic credentials, according to a Justice Department letter sent to Duke Law. Investigators found that the median LSAT score for accepted Black applicants was lower than the median score for rejected Asian and White applicants.
“This consistent difference in the test scores between students of different racial groups is substantial and cannot be explained by a coincidence,” the letter stated. “The magnitude and durability of these preferences across multiple cycles (including post-SFFA) confirm intentional discrimination.”
The Trump administrations review of internal communications found that the law school began preparing for the Supreme Courts SFFA ruling so its admissions process could continue “to meet the Law School’s goals for a broadly diverse student body.”
For instance, Duke Law’s post-SFFA guidance for admissions allowed officials to “consider applicants’ discussion of how race affected their life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” Applicants provided these discussions in short-answer essays, where admissions officials could then “tag” the responses to provide context for weaker academic records when evaluating applicants.
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Duke Law states that it values “students with a wide range of experiences, backgrounds, and interests that may not be directly related to their legal ambitions,” encouraging applicants to “highlight different elements” of who they are.
“Using diversity essay questions to identify preferred races for admission is still <a href="https://foxnews.com/category/politics/executive/
