CIR cancels Grutter; contests other witnesses

By Jen Fish

Daily Staff Reporter

DETROIT - Although her name appears on the front of the briefs, plaintiff Barbara Grutter will not testify against the Law School policies that prevented her acceptance in 1997.

Terry Pell, Chief Executive Officer for the Center for Individual Rights said the decision to cancel Grutter's testimony simple.

"This part of the trial is about the admissions process and she has no knowledge of that," he said. Pell added that Grutter may testify at the damages portion of the litigation.

Deputy General Counsel Liz Barry said the University moved to exclude Grutter earlier in the proceedings, "because given the issues that the court had narrowed, she couldn't give any testimony that was relevant."

CIR filed other motions to exclude the testimony of several witnesses for the University and the intervening coalition of affirmative action supporters, citing lack of relevance to the questions set forth by U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman.

Specifically, CIR unsuccessfully moved to exclude the testimony of University experts Claude Steele and Kent Syverud. Syverud, dean of Vanderbilt Law School, and Steele, the University's expert on standardized testing, were scheduled to testify on the educational benefits of diversity, a key component to the University's defense.

But CIR lawyers argued that the trial's purpose is to discuss the way race is used as factor in the Law School's policies and "no one's contesting there are educational benefits to diversity," said R. Lawrence Purdy. The diversity question, he said, is not a factual issue in the case and makes their testimony irrelevant to the case.

Arguing for the University, attorney Philip Kessler said Dean Syverud is "an expert in the education of law students" and his testimony would be important in defining "the extent to which the Law School considers race in admissions is driven by its objective to bring together a critical mass of qualified students."

University and CIR lawyers had a similar argument over Steele, a psychology professor at Stanford.

Friedman said he would allow Steele and Syverud's testimony, but would not comment on whether he felt their testimony was relevant.

"(The University) can use their time as they see best," he said.

CIR also filed a motion to exclude four of the experts for the intervening defendants: John Hope Franklin, Frank Wu, Eric Foner and Tom Sugrue; and four Law School professors who were scheduled as "fact witnesses."

Miranda Massie, lead counsel for the intervenors, called CIR's motion "absolutely ridiculous."

"CIR wants to keep anything about equality and integration out of the case," she said. "They've been trying to do that from the very outset."

The intervenors will likely respond to CIR's motion within the week.

JOYCE LEE/Daily

San Francisco State University student Laura Nelson and Oakland Technical High School freshman Nicole Walker protest before yesterday's trial. Inside: Berkeley Law students fly all night to join the protest. Page 7.