But even if the diversity rationale falls out of favor with the U.S. Supreme Court, New York City’s revamped Discovery program should not. The law that created the program and the manner in which it is applied are class-conscious, not race-conscious. And if the conservative members of the Court ultimately do rule against the City in McAuliffe, they will have demonstrated in plain sight that their support for class-based affirmative action was a rhetorical smokescreen, after all.
Lawyers Argue the Discovery Program on Injunction Appeal
In an attempt to appeal an earlier district court preliminary injunction decision plaintiff lawyers argue that the Discovery Program is somehow racist.
It should be noted that…
- …that the Discovery program was started in the 1960s and predates the SHSAT exam and Hecht-Calandra itself.
- also, the Discovery program was reserved roughly 15% of offers in 1971.
- and that it was the express legislative intent of Hecht-Calandra to give the mayor unlimited control over the level of offers in the discovery program.