Ban On Affirmative Action Will Be Before Court In Fall

LANSING (WWJ) - The U.S. Supreme Court has decided it will hear arguments in the case of the State of Michigan's ban on affirmative action. Voters approved the ban on affirmative action in 2006, but opponents to the ban filed suit saying that it's unconstitutional.

The ban was overturned by the Federal Appeals Court in 2011.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says he is welcoming the chance to defend the ban and he believes the Supreme Court will see it differently.

"It turned the Fourteenth Amendment on its head because the Appeals Court stated that the Michigan approach to have 'non-discrimination and free from preferences' was discriminatory," Schuette said.

Schuette says that college admissions should be based solely on merit and he says everyone should have equal access to Michigan's top universities.

"I think this issue, in terms of the Michigan constitution, reviewed thoroughly by the United State Supreme Court, I think in the end we are going to have a resounding victory," he said.

The Supreme Court will hear the case in Fall.