Mich. ban on race in college admissions illegal

DETROIT -- A federal appeals court Friday struck down a state referendum that banned affirmative action in college admissions, employment and contracting, setting up another Supreme Court showdown on the issue.

"It's a tremendous victory," Detroit lawyer George Washington said shortly after a U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in a 2-1 decision that Proposal 2 was unconstitutional.

"Affirmative action is now legal in college admissions in Michigan and that means thousands of black, Latin and native American students who would have been excluded from our best undergraduate and graduate programs will now be admitted," Washington said.

The Michigan Attorney General's Office had no immediate comment, but Washington, who represents a coalition of organizations that fought the 2006 ballot proposal, said he expects the state to ask the entire U.S. 6th Circuit to review the decision and, if that fails, ask the Supreme Court to take up the issue.

Jennifer Gratz, who led the campaign for passage of Proposal 2 following the conclusion of her own lawsuit against the University of Michigan for using race-based admissions, said Friday she had not yet reviewed the appeals court decision.

But an appeal is almost certain, she said, and "I can't imagine this ruling will stand."