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US Court Strikes Down Mich. Affirmative Action Ban

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A federal appeals court has thrown out Michigan's voter-approved ban on affirmative action in college admissions and public hiring.

The court says the 2006 amendment to the Michigan Constitution is illegal because it presents an extraordinary burden to opponents who would have to mount their own long, expensive campaign to protect affirmative action.

The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said Thursday that the burden undermines a federal right that all citizens "have equal access to the tools of political change."

Michigan voters amended the constitution to ban the consideration of race in college admissions and government hiring. It forced the University of Michigan and other public schools to change policies.

"I think now that public universities would be able to set their agenda to whether they want to have race as a factor, as was I think their consideration prior to Prop 2," said  Larry Dubin, a professor at the University of Detroit Mercy law school.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he will appeal the case to the U-S Supreme Court.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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