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Dive Temporary:

• The U.S. Naval Academy is going through a lawsuit over its race-conscious admissions from the identical authorized group that efficiently introduced down all these insurance policies within the landmark case the U.S. Supreme Court docket determined this yr.
• That is the second grievance that College students for Truthful Admissions, or SFFA, has filed in opposition to a navy academy. SFFA can be searching for to overturn insurance policies on the U.S. Navy Academy at West Level, arguing in each circumstances that the academies illegally contemplate race in admissions.
• The lawsuit in opposition to the Naval Academy was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court docket for the District of Maryland. An academy spokesperson stated Friday it doesn’t touch upon pending litigation.

Dive Perception:

The dual lawsuits in opposition to the navy academies purpose to capitalize on SFFA’s June victory on the excessive courtroom, which struck down race-conscious insurance policies at Harvard College and the College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

That opinion threw out many years of authorized precedent enabling faculties to issue race into the admissions course of. 

Nonetheless, it particularly exempted navy academies. 

In a footnote within the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote navy academies could have “doubtlessly distinct pursuits” from different establishments.

This didn’t fulfill SFFA, which began pushing for a lawsuit in opposition to the academies shortly after the Supreme Court docket delivered its ruling.

“By tethering its use of race to the racial demographics of the enlisted corps and the nation as a complete, the Academy is violating equal safety,” SFFA wrote within the new grievance.

The federal authorities has defended using race in navy academy admissions. 

U.S. Solicitor Common Elizabeth Prelogar, who represented the Biden administration throughout the Harvard and UNC-Chapel Hill circumstances, argued earlier than the Supreme Court docket a yr in the past that making certain various armed forces is a “nationwide safety crucial.”

“Our armed forces know from exhausting expertise that after we wouldn’t have a various officer corps that’s broadly reflective of a various combating pressure, our energy and cohesion and navy readiness undergo,” Prelogar stated.