The history of this plaintiff and the courts is as tortured as the legal ground on which the government stands. Adarand sued in 1990, claiming that the contracting programs that gave a preference to so-called disadvantaged contractors were illegally and unconstitutionally based on race. It seems to us that the federal government sometimes chooses to ignore what it doesn't like and tries to wear down opponents with time. The federal contracting goal programs still exist, they still assume that firms owned by minorities and women are disadvantaged business enterprises that need special help, and they still mandate government discrimination on the basis of sex and race, both suspect classifications under federal law. As we have said before, the administration of these goal programs has been so bad over the years that the corruption, mismanagement and unfairness should have been sufficient to tank them, let alone the unconstitutionality.
Many trade associations have active voluntary programs for their nurturing and development.
But we do believe that attempts to prop up this form of government contracting are highly suspect, illegal and certainly do not live up to the kind of strict scrutiny that the high court called for in 1995.