Supreme Court Rules in Bakke, Limiting Race-Conscious Admissions

In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that UC Davis Medical School's explicit racial quota reserving 16 of 100 seats for minorities was unconstitutional. Justice Powell's controlling opinion held that race could be one factor among many in admissions, but rigid quotas violated the Equal Protection Clause. Allan Bakke, a white applicant, was ordered admitted.