Page:Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.pdf/166

Rh Answering the question whether Harvard’s and UNC’s policies survive strict scrutiny under settled law is straightforward, both because of the procedural posture of these cases and because of the narrow scope of the issues presented by petitioner Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFFA).

These cases arrived at this Court after two lengthy trials. Harvard and UNC introduced dozens of fact witnesses, expert testimony, and documentary evidence in support of their admissions programs. Brief for Petitioner 20, 40. SFFA, by contrast, did not introduce a single fact witness and relied on the testimony of two experts. Ibid.

After making detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law, the District Courts entered judgment in favor of Harvard and UNC. See 397 F. Supp. 3d 126, 133–206 (Mass. 2019) (Harvard I); 567 F. Supp. 3d 580, 588–667 (MDNC 2021) (UNC). The First Circuit affirmed in the Harvard case, finding “no error” in the District Court’s thorough opinion. 980 F. 3d 157, 204 (2020) (Harvard II). SFFA then filed petitions for a writ of certiorari in both cases, which the Court granted. 595 U. S. ___ (2022).

The Court granted certiorari on three questions: (1) whether the Court should overrule Bakke, Grutter, and