They ordered Bakke admitted to medical school because the school's policy had in effect denied him admission because of his race. The Equal Protection Clause has in some instances been interpreted to uphold affirmative action programs in situations where the program is necessary to remedy past discrimination. The Department had been shown to have discriminated against blacks, and had refused to change its discriminatory policy for over a decade, even after a state court ordered it to do so. In Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co . The Court held that the program failed under strict scrutiny, because it effectively denied certain citizens the opportunity to compete for city contracts because of their race, without a previous showing that minorities were suffering under the effects of past discrimination.
Affirmative action continues to be the subject of court cases.