Conservative activist steers U.S. Supreme Court college race cases - Reuters

Oct 27 (Reuters) - When the U.S. Supreme Court adjacent week considers ending policies utilized by galore colleges and universities to summation their numbers of Black and Hispanic students, a blimpish activistic volition beryllium connected manus to ticker this fateful infinitesimal successful his agelong quest to erase radical preferences intended to boost diverseness successful American life.

The challenges to race-conscious admissions policies utilized by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina were brought by a radical called Students for Fair Admissions founded and headed by Edward Blum, a 70-year-old erstwhile stockbroker and unsuccessful Republican legislature candidate.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to perceive arguments successful the 2 cases connected Monday, with rulings owed by the extremity of June. The litigation gives its 6-3 blimpish bulk different accidental to contented blockbuster decisions aft rulings 4 months agone overturning abortion rights and expanding gun rights.

The blimpish justices - Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett - are expected to beryllium receptive to arguments Blum has honed against affirmative enactment policies, crafted arsenic a remedy to discrimination. As such, Blum whitethorn beryllium connected the verge of a immense ineligible triumph arsenic helium fights race-based policies not lone successful higher acquisition but successful areas specified arsenic elections and diverseness successful firm America.

"I'm a one-trick pony," Blum said successful an interview. "I anticipation and attraction astir ending these radical classifications and preferences successful our nationalist policy."

Blum, who is white, has formed his ngo arsenic 1 aimed astatine creating a colorblind society.

"An individual's contention oregon ethnicity should not beryllium utilized to assistance them oregon harm them successful their life's endeavors," Blum said.

His critics overgarment his enactment arsenic a warfare connected radical equity aimed astatine undercutting policies designed to assistance non-white Americans flooded radical obstacles persisting successful U.S. life.

"He's made it harder for corporations, boards and governments to marque radical diverseness an explicit goal," said Kristin Penner, a co-founder of a radical called the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard that supports affirmative action. "And frankincense radical of colour proceed to beryllium blocked retired of positions of power."

Blum's extremity is for the Supreme Court to overturn its ain precedents allowing contention arsenic a origin successful admissions.

Blum mislaid successful a erstwhile lawsuit challenging race-conscious pupil admissions erstwhile the tribunal ruled 4-3 successful 2016 against a achromatic pistillate helium recruited arsenic a plaintiff suing the University of Texas aft being denied admission. Conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy provided the important vote. The tribunal has moved rightward since then. Kennedy himself retired successful 2018.

With Monday's arguments, the tribunal volition person taken up 8 race-related cases engineered by Blum. For instance, a Blum-backed situation led to a 2013 Supreme Court ruling gutting a cardinal portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that had forced 9 states, chiefly successful the South, to get national support for voting rules changes affecting Black and different number voters.

In addition, Blum past twelvemonth launched a radical called the Alliance For Fair Board Recruitment and filed lawsuits challenging Nasdaq rules and California laws mandating sex and radical diverseness connected firm boards.

A 1978 LANDMARK

From his location successful South Thomaston, Maine, Blum has orchestrated a 14-year ineligible run to situation affirmative enactment successful assemblage and assemblage admissions.

The Supreme Court archetypal upheld specified affirmative enactment successful a landmark 1978 ruling successful a lawsuit called Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, holding that contention could beryllium considered arsenic 1 of respective factors, on with world and extracurricular criteria, but radical quotas were prohibited. The tribunal reaffirmed that stance successful 2003.

Blum successful 2008 recruited Abigail Fisher, the girl of an aged friend, and done his archetypal group, the Project for Fair Representation, helped money her University of Texas suit that yielded the 2016 ruling helium called a "grave disappointment."

By then, Blum had shifted gears to the adjacent procreation of cases, forming Students for Fair Admissions successful 2014 and turning his attraction to Harvard and UNC. Those lawsuits accused UNC of discriminating against achromatic and Asian American applicants and Harvard of discriminating against Asian Americans.

Boston University School of Law prof Jonathan Feingold said Blum was "transparent" successful saying helium needed Asian American plaintiffs this clip astir to writer the universities, allowing him to "spin a communicative that affirmative enactment is pitting students of colour against 1 another."

Blum raised much than $8 cardinal from 2015 to 2020 for Students for Fair Admissions, astir going to covering ineligible fees. Big checks came from blimpish supporters including DonorsTrust and Searle Freedom Trust. Blum said 5,000 smaller donors besides contributed.

Students for Fair Admissions has said it boasts 20,000 members. Its critics said it is not a existent rank relation astatine all. No Students for Fair Admissions members served arsenic plaintiffs oregon testified successful tribunal successful the Harvard and UNC cases arsenic the radical mislaid successful little courts. The Supreme Court successful January agreed to perceive appeals backed by Blum successful some cases.

The Harvard suit accused the assemblage of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars favoritism based connected race, colour oregon nationalist root nether immoderate programme oregon enactment receiving national fiscal assistance.

The UNC suit accused that assemblage of violating the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment warrant of adjacent extortion nether the law. Blum and his supporters reason that the 14th Amendment bars authorities entities including nationalist universities similar UNC from treating radical otherwise owed to race.

"His efforts and broader task are paying disconnected due to the fact that present due to the fact that you person a tribunal that is precise receptive to the circumstantial arguments that are being made here," Feingold said.

For Blum, imaginable victories implicit Harvard and UNC whitethorn not beryllium the last connection successful the combat against radical preferences successful pupil admissions.

"It mightiness beryllium the opening of the end," Blum said. "More likely, it's astir apt the extremity of the beginning."

Reporting by Nate Raymond successful Boston; Editing by Will Dunham

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