Appeal Filed in Affirmative Action Case

Lawyers whose arguments against the consideration of race in admissions at the University of Texas at Austin were recently rejected have filed a new appeal, The Austin American-Statesman reported. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit last month upheld the consideration of race and ethnicity in the admissions process. Specifically, the court rejected the lawsuit's claim that Texas has been able to achieve some level of diversity through its race-neutral "10 percent" admissions plan and so need not use other forms of affirmative action. The plaintiffs have now asked the full U.S. appeals court to consider the case.