Law professor: Supreme Court could send affirmative action to the ashbin

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George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Tuesday night that the U.S. Supreme Court probably has enough votes to rule against racial preference in college admissions.

On Countdown with Keith Olbermann, he noted that Justice Anthony Kennedy, who very often determines contentious cases, had previously voted against affirmative action.

“There’s no question that they have the presumed five votes that could send [Grutter v. Bollinger] into the ashbin of history,” Turley said. “With it could go affirmative action — at least the consideration of race.”

The case is being brought to the highest court after the 5th Court of Appeals upheld the university’s decision based on the 2003 Supreme Court case Grutter vs. Bollinger, in which racial considerations in admissions at the University of Michigan were ruled legal by the court.

The original lawsuit was filed by Abigail Fisher and another woman in 2008, who felt the University of Texas’ admissions policy violated their civil and constitutional rights. Fisher, now a senior at Louisiana State University, has continued with the lawsuit while the other woman has dropped out.

Justice Elena Kagan is recusing herself from the case after serving as the Justice Department’s solicitor general while the department participated in the Texas case.

Watch video, courtesy of Current TV, below:

With prior reporting by Andrew Jones