Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf
Page Number: 140

Cite as:  600 U. S. ____ (2023) 

1 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

_________________ 

Nos. 20–1199 and 21–707 
_________________ 

20–1199 

STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC., 
PETITIONER 
v. 
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF 
HARVARD COLLEGE 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT 

STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC., 
PETITIONER 
v. 
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, ET AL. 

21–707 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI BEFORE JUDGMENT TO THE UNITED 
STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT 

[June 29, 2023]

 JUSTICE  SOTOMAYOR,  with  whom  JUSTICE  KAGAN  and 

JUSTICE JACKSON join,* dissenting. 

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amend-
ment enshrines a guarantee of racial equality.  The Court 
long  ago  concluded  that  this  guarantee  can  be  enforced 
through race-conscious means in a society that is not, and 
has never been, colorblind.  In Brown v. Board of Education, 
347  U. S.  483  (1954),  the  Court  recognized  the  constitu-
tional necessity of racially integrated schools in light of the 

—————— 

*JUSTICE JACKSON did not participate in the consideration or decision 
of the case in No. 20–1199 and joins this opinion only as it applies to the 
case in No. 21–707.