How Affirmative Action Varies Across Law Schools in the U.S. By Zachary Jackson

Background Affirmative Action was first publicly used by John F. Kennedy in 1962 It was then signed into law by Larry B. Johnson with the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Literature on the Subject California v. Bakke (1978) Allan Bakke was denied entry into California Davis Medical School. Hopwood v. Texas (1996) The Fifth Circuit Court in Texas came to the conclusion that the school’s admission system was not tailored or systematic enough and should be abolished. Made race preferences in the 5th district unconstitutional.

Literature (Cont.) Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) Justices of this case debunked some of the opinions of the Justices in the California v. Bakke case. Justice Powell specifically. Richard Sander-“A Systemic Analysis of Affirmative Action in American Law Schools” (2005) 20%-30% of four year colleges are able to pick among applicants. 1992- study of 1,956 students (126 black). 51.6% placed in lowest decile. David L Chambers, Timothy Clydesdale, William Kidder, and Richard Lempert- The Real Impact of Eliminating Affirmative Action in American Law Schools: An Empirical Critique of Richard Sander's Study. (2005) Jesse Rothstein and Albert H. Yoon- Affirmative Action in Law School Admissions: What Do Racial Preferences Do?

Hypothesis In a comparison of institutions of higher education, law schools that receive more applications will have a higher diversity rate than those law schools which receive less applications.

Methods Datasets: Law School Admissions Council (LSAC); Institution Class Profiles; and USNEWS Ranking. DV- The Diversity Rate IV: Geographic Location (Institutions chosen) Application’s received

Results Those of color applicants: 23,660 (2015) Those of white applicants: 33,540 (2015) Those of color admitted: 15,790 (2015) White applicants admitted: 28, 400

Results School Applications Received 5,485 2,801 5,336 4,811 4,303 Harvard Yale University of California Berkley University of Virginia University of Texas-Austin Northwestern University University of Chicago-Illinois Applications Received 5,485 2,801 5,336 4,811 4,303 4,625 4,003 Diversity Rate 44% 42% 38% 24% 29% 32% 30%

Discussion My hypothesis was not fully supported. Yale had the second highest diversity rate, yet received the least amount of applications. University of New York (Excluded) Affirmative Action may not vary due to application size among law schools. Instead, the policies of the admissions office and what level of priority diversity plays in those policies.

So Now What? Lawyers of color are significantly disproportionate to those who are white. Find new ways to make legal careers that are dominated by white seem more interesting to those of color. Affirmative Action has increased the amount of lawyers of color since its implementation. Future studies should not address the effectiveness of Affirmative Action.