Legal News

Two cases reconsider affirmative action ban

By Richard Binder

On March 17 a state appeals court approved the Berkeley school district's voluntary integration plan, concluding that its unique plan to consider the racial makeup of a neighborhood, rather than individual students, does not violate the terms of Prop. 209.

Less than a day later, the California Supreme Court asked the state Attorney General, in a separate case, whether Prop. 209's denial of preferences in government contracting violates federal equal protection principles "by making it more difficult to enact legislation on behalf of minority groups," according to the order in Coral Construction v. City of San Francisco, S152934.

In that case, the construction company challenged San Francisco's ordinance providing preferences for minority and female-owned businesses with regard to city contracts.

The decision in the Berkeley case is the first time a state appellate court has approved a school district integration plan since voters approved Prop. 209 nearly 13 years ago. The Coral Construction case was accepted by the state's high court for review in August 2007 and has been briefed but the added request for the state Attorney General Jerry Brown's input is new.

Read the full NLJ story.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on March 19, 2009 (boomark / email).