UC Berkeley Law School Deliberately Discriminated Against White, Asian Applicants, Federal Probe Finds

BERKELEY, CA — A federal probe found that UC Berkeley's Law School deliberately discriminated against White and Asian applicants in favor of Black students during its admissions process.

UC Berkeley's Law School violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by using race, essay prompts and other tactics to "further its admissions diversity goals" when selecting potential students in 2024 and 2025, federal officials said.

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"For instance, Berkeley's application asked applicants to specify their racial identity, so that admitted students could be 'grouped' with others of the same 'primary identity' in class," federal officials said. "In other words, Berkeley Law intentionally separates admitted students by race."

UC Berkeley officials told Patch that its schools do not discriminate on race in its admissions process, saying it "scrupulously complies" with federal statutes, the Constitution, and Proposition 209, passed in 1996 to eliminate affirmative action in many public sectors, including education.

"Our admissions policy is clear that race is not considered in any way in admissions decisions," Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky told Patch. "Proposition 209, federal statutes, and the Supreme Court's decisions do not preclude schools from pursuing diversity so long as they give no preferences based on race. Berkeley Law does not do so."

The findings come from the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Education, which said they carefully reviewed and analyzed data from Berkeley Law and publicly available information to make their conclusion.

That data provided by federal officials shows that White applicants were denied entry to the law school despite having stronger LSAT scores than a large majority of Black applicants, according to Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. Department of Justice assistant attorney general for civil rights.

"The data produced by Berkeley Law demonstrates a strong intentional bias against Asian and white applicants, with a corresponding bias in favor of black applicants," federal officials said. "The magnitude and durability of the race preferences confirmed by Berkeley Law's applicant-level data could not reasonably have occurred by chance and provide substantial evidence of intentional discrimination."

Federal officials say they'll seek a voluntary resolution agreement with the university to "ensure that admissions and oversight practices are brought into legal compliance.

"Title VI is clear: no student should be advantaged or disadvantaged in admissions because of the color of their skin," U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. "The Supreme Court made equally clear that universities cannot evade the law by finding new ways to make race a factor in admissions decisions."

But UC Berkeley officials say they're committed to clearing its name by providing "ample evidence showing that the university complies with all relevant laws, policies and rules governing admissions."