Justice Department finds UCLA law school illegally used race in admissions

Key Points:

• The Justice Department found that UCLA's law school illegally considered race in admissions, favoring Black and Hispanic applicants over white and Asian American students in the 2023-2025 classes.
• This finding follows similar accusations against other University of California schools, including UC Berkeley Law and UC San Diego's medical school, amid increased federal scrutiny of college admissions under the Trump administration.
• The investigation revealed that UCLA Law staff instructed applicants on how to disclose their race during recruitment events, and the department criticized the school's two-tiered admissions system based on race.
• Affirmative action in college admissions has been banned since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling, but the Justice Department alleges colleges are using proxies like personal statements to circumvent this ban.
• UCLA Law expressed confidence in its merit-based admissions process, while the Justice Department's findings may lead to voluntary compliance or legal action against the university.