Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

Allan Bakke

In 1973, UC Davis had a kind of 'quota' system for minorities or disadvantage students which held a certain GPA and minimum MCAT score. A white applicant named Alan Bakke was refused submission even though his  MCATs were substantially higher, so he sued. The CA Superior Court ruled that the program was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and for his eventual admission, but the Regents of UC Davis took it to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5 to 4 vote that the program was unconstitutional because it did not give INDIVIDUALS equal protection under the law. If the quota aspect and racial specificity was done away with, the court would find this constitutional and equally competitive. Having scene the evidence, I feel that this particular case was blown out of proportion, but the outcome was satisfactory for equal opportunity for individuals.
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