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Civil Rights & Equal Protection
Gratz v. Bollinger
Decided: 2003
In brief
Struck down a point-based affirmative action system as insufficiently individualized.
The Court's ruling in depth
Decided the same day as Grutter, Gratz struck down Michigan's undergraduate admissions system, which automatically awarded 20 points (of 100 needed for admission) to underrepresented minority applicants. The mechanical bonus was not the 'narrowly tailored' individualized review Bakke required. Together the twin decisions defined the constitutional line: race as a factor, yes; race as a formula, no.