Citations 505 U.S. 717 (more) Concurrence Thomas Date decided 1992 | Concurrence O'Connor Concur/dissent Scalia | |
Full case name United States v. Fordice Majority White, joined by Rehnquist, Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, and Thomas Ruling court Supreme Court of the United States Similar Green v County School B, Missouri ex rel Gaines v Canada, Hopwood v Texas, McLaurin v Oklahoma State Reg, Sweatt v Painter | ||
United States v. Fordice, 505 U.S. 717 (1992) is a United States Supreme Court case that resulted in an eight to one ruling that the eight public universities in Mississippi had not sufficiently integrated and that the state must take affirmative action to change this under the Equal Protection Clause. The Court found that, although the state had eliminated explicit prohibitions on the admission of black students to institutions including the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi, the Court of Appeals had not properly reviewed the set of discriminatory policies used by the state to suppress black enrollment at these schools.
Four opinions were filed in the case. In addition to Justice White's majority opinion, Justice O'Connor and Justice Thomas filed concurring opinions. Thomas, in particular, expressed a concern that the strict review of policies that divided students by race should not be used against historically black universities in the state.
Justice Scalia filed a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, expressing his disagreement with the burden that the Court imposed on universities and his concern that the standards set forth by the Court would create confusion and lead to more litigation.