Hopwood v. Texas: Affirmative Action in Law School Admissions

Summary

This document describes the case of Cheryl Hopwood, a white applicant denied admission to the University of Texas Law School despite a strong academic record. It explains the school's affirmative action policy, the university's arguments about diversity in the legal profession, and Hopwood's claim of discrimination in federal court.

Key points

Cheryl Hopwood had a 3.8 GPA and scored in the 83rd percentile on the LSAT but was not admitted to the University of Texas Law School.
The law school used an affirmative action policy that gave preference to minority applicants, including African American and Mexican American students.
Hopwood sued in federal court, arguing she was a victim of discrimination.
The university argued its mission included increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the Texas legal profession, including law firms, the state legislature and the courts.
African Americans and Mexican Americans made up 40 percent of Texas's population but a much smaller share of the legal profession.
The admissions policy aimed to enroll about 15 percent of each class from minority applicants, using lower standards for minority applicants.

Test yourself

Cheryl Hopwood did not come from an affluent family. Raised by a single mother, she worked her way through high school, community college, and California State University at Sacramento. She then moved to Texas and applied to the University of Texas Law School, the best law school in the state and one of the leading law schools in the country. Although Hopwood had compiled a grade point average of 3.8 and did reasonably well on the Law School Admission Test (scoring in the 83rd percentile), she was not admitted.

Hopwood, who is white, thought her rejection was unfair. Some of the applicants admitted instead of her were African American and Mexican American students who had lower college grades and test scores than she did. The school had an affirmative action policy that gave preference to minority applicants. In fact, all of the minority students with grades and test scores comparable to Hopwood's had been admitted.

Hopwood took her case to federal court, arguing that she was a victim of discrimination. The university replied that part of the law school's mission was to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the Texas legal profession, including not only law firms but also the state legislature and the courts.

"Law in a civil society depends overwhelmingly on the willingness of society to accept its judgment," said Michael Sharlot, dean of the law school. "It becomes harder to achieve that if we don't see members of all groups playing roles in the administration of justice."

In Texas, African Americans and Mexican Americans comprise 40 percent of the population but a far smaller proportion of the legal profession. When Hopwood applied, the University of Texas Law School used an affirmative action admissions policy that aimed at enrolling about 15 percent of the class from among minority applicants.

In order to achieve this goal, the university set lower admissions standards for minority applicants than for nonminority applicants. University officials argued, however, that all of the minority students who were admitted were qualified to do the work, and almost all succeeded in graduating from law school and passing the bar exam. But that was small comfort to Hopwood, who believed she had been treated unfairly and should have been admitted.

FAQ

Why was Cheryl Hopwood denied admission to the University of Texas Law School?

Hopwood was not admitted even though her grades and test scores were competitive. The school's affirmative action policy gave preference to minority applicants, and all minority students with comparable grades and scores had been admitted.

What was the University of Texas's justification for its affirmative action policy?

The university argued that part of its mission was to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the Texas legal profession. It said that seeing members of all groups in the administration of justice helps society accept the law's judgments.