Affirmative Action

The news this week has put race on America's brain. There were the Supreme Court decisions, the trial of George Zimmerman and the downfall of celebrity chef Paula Deen. But the country is still fumbling through persistent inequality, even in the absence of overt prejudice.

Thomas sided with the majority but argues that state-sanctioned racial discrimination is "automatically fatal." In his view, the court should have taken broader action to prohibit the use of race in college admissions.

The Supreme Court has issued its ruling on a high-profile affirmative action case concerning college admissions: In a 7-1 ruling, it sent Fisher v. University of Texas back to a lower court. Renee Montagne speaks with NPR's Nina Totenberg.

The Supreme Court has sent a high-profile affirmation action case back to the lower courts. The case, Fisher v. University of Texas, concerned the admissions policy at the University of Texas, which uses race as one factor for some slots.

In a 7-1 decision, the justices ruled a lower court had not applied the right standards when it upheld a University of Texas program. It said that court needs to put the Texas program through "strict scrutiny," and had not done that.

The court's term is set to end this week. But the justices still haven't issued rulings on cases involving same-sex marriage and voting rights.

After California banned affirmative action in 1996, the percentages of black and Latino students at UCLA quickly began to fall. The school tried to remedy the problem by changing the factors it considered in its admissions decisions. The percentages of minority students rebounded. But then the school was accused of breaking the law.

Want to know how the justices decide who writes the big opinions? Or when they decide to release them to the public? What about whether the justices hang out after work? Get your answers here.

The court is expected to issue an opinion on a separate affirmative action case, soon. But the Michigan case is bound to have broader implications.

The Supreme Court's expected ruling on a case involving the University of Texas could end race-based affirmative action. But while some say the program works and is still needed, others argue there are better ways of measuring diversity.