Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP Partner Natasha J. Baker is quoted in the Law360 article "Lawyers Weigh In On High Court's Affirmative Action Ruling," recapping the high court's decision in the case Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. Baker offered the following:
The court's ruling in Schuette, upholding Michigan's ban on consideration of race as a factor in admissions, impacts the integrity of the political process and diversity in higher education. Its impact on the political process is the mathematically obvious problem that the minority can never overcome the majority of voters, which is permissible in a democracy, unless the legislation burdens only a racial minority. Rejection of this doctrine erodes this critical limitation. Its impact on diversity in higher education can be predicted by the immediate and sustained decrease in minority admissions following California's passage of comparable legislation in 1996.