The Elusive Quest for Value Neutral Judging: A Response to Redish and Arnould

In October 2012, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin and again faced the question of whether colleges and universities can consider race as a factor in admissions decisions to benefit minorities and enhance diversity. As was true when the Court last considered this issue in Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003, the central question for the Justices was whether colleges and universities have a compelling interest in having a diverse student body. As I read the paper by Martin Redish and Mathew Arnould, I wondered how they would have the Court go about answering that question.