Hopwood v. Texas - Significance, Denied Admission, Millions In Damages, The Terms Of The Complaint, The Former Policy

Hopwood v. Texas - Significance

Hopwood v. Texas - Further Readings

Hopwood v. Texas - Denied Admission

Cheryl Hopwood was one of several non-minority students rejected when she applied for admission to the University of Texas Law School in 1992. Hopwood was about 30 at the time, and had once successfully applied to an Ivy League school for undergraduate study, but was forced to decline because she could not afford it. Instead she attended community colleges in Indiana and California, where she earn…

Hopwood v. Texas - Millions In Damages

With the help of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Individual Rights, a libertarian-focused, public-interest law firm, their suit was filed on 29 September 1992 against the state of Texas, the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System, the University of Texas Law School, and several individual university officials. Hopwood requested injunctive relief--admittance to the University o…

Hopwood v. Texas - The Terms Of The Complaint

In their case, the plaintiffs asserted that the University of Texas admissions policy violated their civil rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The provision states that: No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activi…

Hopwood v. Texas - The Former Policy

Some legal analysts found Hopwood a poor test case for affirmative action, since the University of Texas Law School so clearly violated the Bakke ruling with its policy. Yet that policy had been in place at the University of Texas since 1983, and had been designed to help Hispanic and African American students overcome biases in standardized tests. Arguments questioning the fairness of standardize…

Hopwood v. Texas - The Arguments For And Against Hopwood

Hopwood's particular circumstances and rejection of her application were cited as proof that in some instances, affirmative action policies might work in "reverse." She had survived a difficult background, and excelled in school despite economic and personal hardships. Indeed, Hopwood did have slightly better grades and higher LSAT scores than some of the minority students who were admitted to Uni…

Hopwood v. Texas - The Decision

Hopwood v. Texas - An End To Affirmative Action?

There remained a great deal of confusion over the terms of the Hopwood ruling. Was it specific to just the University of Texas and its admission policy, which had since been revised, or did it apply to all state universities inside the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit--which included Mississippi and Louisiana as well? Conservatives, who favored the dismantling of affirmative action programs, asse…

Hopwood v. Texas - University Race Quotas