A Detroit judge ruled last week that the lawsuit challenging the University's College of Literature, Science and the Arts admissions practices received class action status, which may allow thousands of applicants to gain entrance to the University in the future.
The lawsuit, which was filed more than one year ago, is scheduled for trial this summer.
With the new class action status, the two named plaintiffs represent a class of similarly situated applicants who also could seek to enter the suit. According to Detroit Federal Judge Patrick Duggan's opinion, the court currently is not considering damages.
"The class will be represented by Mr. (Patrick) Hamacher and will consist of those individual who applied for and were not granted admission to (LSA) for all academic years from 1995 forward and who are members of those racial or ethnic groups, including Caucasian, that defendants treat less favorably on the basis of race in considering their application for admission," court documents state.
Duggan certified the class on the "issues of liability: whether defendants' use of race as a factor in admission decisions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution," court documents state.
The Center for Individual Rights filed the lawsuit Dec. 14, 1997 against the University on behalf of two individuals, Jennifer Gratz, who applied in 1995 and Hamacher, who applied in 1996.
The white plaintiffs claim they were unfairly evaluated in the University's admissions process because race was used as a factor.
The University had filed a motion denying the class-action certification.
Since the suit was filed, the University has vigorously defended its use of race as a factor in its admission process.
CIR senior legal counsel Terry Pell could not be reached for comment yesterday.
University spokesperson Julie Peterson said the University has no comment, but is still studying the ruling. The University could appeal Duggan's decision.
Hamacher has testified that he intends to apply for transfer to the University. He currently attends Michigan State University, where he is presently sophomore.
According to the court documents, the University said Hamacher must have at least a 3.0 grade point average to be admitted.
Hamacher could still could be admitted. Gratz will graduate from the University's Dearborn campus this year.
CIR must win the case for it to affect other applicants to the University.
01-06-99
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