Judge Tosses Trump Suit Over Harvard Admissions Records
Are these lawsuits collapsing because the administration skips legal requirements for headlines or are courts burying real questions about race in admissions?
Above: A gateway on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Mass., on April 16. Image credit: Sophie Park/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Facts
- A federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit Monday that sought to force Harvard University to turn over records for an investigation into whether it still considers race in admissions.
- Joun wrote that an agency must advise a recipient of its failure to comply and determine that compliance "cannot be secured by voluntary means" before taking enforcement action. He added that the ruling does not end the dispute over the data.
- The judge noted the complaint did not allege the Justice Department had told Harvard it would sue if the school failed to comply. Harvard has said it provided more than 2,000 pages of documents without turning over individualized records.
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The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Losing case after case is the predictable result of an administration that treats legal requirements as optional. Courts keep tossing these suits because the basic steps required by law get skipped in a rush for headlines. Flashy filings that collapse on arrival accomplish nothing except wasting taxpayer money and eroding trust in the rule of law.
Pro-Trump narrative
Tossing the case on a paperwork technicality keeps a simple question buried — whether race still drives admissions after the Supreme Court said it can't. Applicants deserve proof that the law is being followed. Accountability for elite universities should not hinge on who appointed the judge.
