Judicial Watch asks Supreme Court to hear case on Harvard admissions policies, Asian Americans

Judicial Watch said Monday that it has filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to Harvard's admission policies, which is in part based on race and that the plaintiffs argue discriminates against Asian Americans.

The conservative-leaning watchdog group and Students for Fair Admissions, a non-profit organization focused on ending race-based admissions practices by U.S. colleges, argue the case against Harvard should be heard by the Supreme Court to set a precedent for such admission policies.

"Court-sanctioned racial discrimination in college admissions is contrary to federal law and the U.S. Constitution," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. "The Supreme Court should stop abusing its powers to protect racial discrimination and uphold the rights of Asian students and other innocents punished for being the wrong race by Harvard and other universities."

Students for Fair Admissions argued in a lawsuit against Harvard that the Ivy League university's admission policies for Asian Americans violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bans unconstitutional race-based admissions by public universities.

Judicial Watch's brief follows the U.S. District Court for the First Circuit upholding Harvard's admissions practices in the filed by Students for Fair Admissions.

"Admissions programs that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race may themselves be negatively affecting the level of racial understanding and tolerance on today’s college campuses," Judicial Watch said in its brief.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department dropped a lawsuit against Yale University for alleged discrimination against Asian American applicants, according to The New York Post.