Edward H. Campbell (@EdwardHCampbell)

Justice Department Finds Duke Law School Discriminates Based on Race in Admissions The Department’s investigation found that post-SFFA, Duke Law emphasized racial diversity in admissions and engaged in a deliberate effort to preserve race-based outcomes for its incoming classes. Duke Law revised its Mission Statement to express its goal to “help build and sustain a dynamic legal profession that embodies a commitment” to a number of stated values, such as equal justice, public service, and a “diversity of perspective and experience.” Duke Law’s application included short answer essay questions, which allowed candidates to discuss how they would further Duke Law’s mission. Admissions reviewers were then instructed to “tag” responses to these short answer questions. To capture answers related to “diversity of perspective and experience” reviewers used the “Diversity/Services” tag. Reviewers were also instructed to use tags to capture specific applicant characteristics that are commonly correlated with race, such as being a Pell grant recipient. Thus, while Duke Law’s published policies assert that admissions reviewers did not see racial demographic data, Duke Law directed its admissions staff to highlight applicant information that could be used to advance Duke Law’s racial diversity goals. As a result, a black or Hispanic applicant has a substantially higher likelihood of admission to Duke Law than a white or Asian applicant with the same academic credentials. When qualifications are not similar, the result is starker: in 2024 and 2025, the median LSAT scores of rejected white and Asian applicants exceeded the median LSAT scores of admitted black applicants. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-duke-law-school-discriminates-based-race-admissions #News #US #NC #Education #Duke #University #Crime #DEI #Fraud #Racism