DOJ Accuses Duke Law of Race-Based Admissions Violating Supreme Court Ruling

The Justice Department has accused Duke University School of Law of engaging in race-based admissions practices that allegedly favor Black and Hispanic applicants over White and Asian applicants with similar academic credentials. These allegations, stemming from an investigation initiated in April 2025, suggest the law school used these practices to meet its diversity goals, potentially violating the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA).

According to a letter from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to Duke Law, Black applicants in 2025 had approximately 3.5 times the chance of admission compared to Asian applicants with identical academic records. The investigation found that the median LSAT score for admitted Black applicants was lower than the median score for rejected Asian and White applicants. "The magnitude and durability of these preferences across multiple cycles (including post-SFFA) confirm intentional discrimination," the letter stated.

Internal communications reviewed by the Trump administration indicated that Duke Law began preparing for the SFFA ruling to continue its efforts to achieve a "broadly diverse student body." Following the Supreme Court's decision, the law school's admissions guidance reportedly allowed officials to consider an applicant's discussion of how race affected their life, which could be used in short-answer essays to provide context for weaker academic records.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stated, "Using ‘diversity’ essay questions to identify preferred races for admission is still illegal discrimination based on race, and this Department is committed to eliminating it everywhere we find it, including in our nation’s law schools."

Duke Law's post-SFFA admissions continued to highlight the school's diversity. In a May 2024 annual review, the associate dean of admissions noted the diversity of the incoming fall 2023 class, including demographic breakdowns of Latino, Black, and Asian or Asian American students. The school's 2025 Annual Review Memorandum suggested that the diversity of the student body could be gauged by observation rather than formal statistics.

A spokesperson for Duke University acknowledged awareness of the Justice Department's findings. "We are reviewing the letter and its conclusions carefully. Duke is committed to complying with the law and will continue to do so in a manner that is consistent with our academic mission," the spokesperson said.