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United States v. Virginia

Significance, Sex Discrimination At V.m.i., History Repeats Itself, A Catch -22



Petitioner

United States

Respondents

Commonwealth of Virginia, Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder; Virginia Military Institute, et al.

Petitioner's Claim

That the male-only admissions policy of the state-supported Virginia Military Institute (V.M.I.) violated the Fourteenth Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Paul Bender, U.S. Deputy Solicitor General

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Theodore B. Olsen

Justices for the Court

Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (writing for the Court), Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens

Justices Dissenting

Antonin Scalia (Clarence Thomas did not participate)

Place

Washington D.C.

Date of Decision

26 June 1996

Decision

Excluding women from state-supported schools was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Related Cases

  • Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71 (1971).
  • Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973).
  • Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190 (1976).
  • Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, 458 U.S. 718 (1982).

Additional topics

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