3 Supreme Court Justices Dissent in Major Affirmative Action Ruling

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. (Seated from left) Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan, (Standing behind from left) Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that colleges and universities cannot take race into consideration when granting admission, striking down decades of precedent.

The case involved the admissions policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public university, and Harvard University, a private Ivy League college. The court ruled 6–3, with Republican-appointed justices joining the majority, and Democrat-appointed justices joining the minority.