DOJ Accuses Duke Law of Using New Admissions Essays to Favor Racial Diversity
The Justice Department alleges that Duke Law School altered its admissions process after the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions decision, using diversity essays to give black and Hispanic applicants an advantage over equally qualified white and Asian candidates.
The Department of Justice has filed a claim that Duke Law School responded to the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision by embedding a covert race-based admissions strategy. Internal communications from late 2023 show the school elevated DEI as a core value and introduced an essay prompt asking candidates to demonstrate commitment to “equal justice, public service, and a diversity of perspective and experience.”
Reviewers were instructed to tag responses that reveal characteristics often correlated with race, which the DOJ says resulted in black and Hispanic applicants receiving admission offers at a markedly higher rate than white or Asian applicants with similar academic records. Evidence cited includes median LSAT scores where rejected white and Asian candidates outscored admitted black candidates in 2024 and 2025. Duke asserts its approach aligns with legal requirements and its academic mission, but Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon contended that the essay mechanism still amounts to prohibited discrimination. The lawsuit underscores the Justice Department’s intent to enforce the Supreme Court’s ban on race-based admissions across higher-education institutions.
Why it matters
The case tests how far schools can go to preserve racial diversity without violating the Supreme Court's ban on race-based admissions.
In this story
