The U.S. Department of Justice has concluded that Duke University School of Law violated federal civil rights law by intentionally discriminating on the basis of race in admissions for its 2023, 2024, and 2025 incoming classes.
According to findings released Thursday, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said the law school’s admissions practices violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which barred the use of race-conscious admissions policies in higher education.
The department alleged that Duke Law continued to prioritize racial diversity after the Supreme Court’s decision and adopted admissions practices designed to preserve race-based outcomes.
“Duke Law School doesn’t get a free pass to discriminate against white and Asian students simply because it thinks it has good intentions,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
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Dhillon also argued that using diversity essay responses to identify applicants’ race amounted to unlawful discrimination and said the department would continue enforcing the Supreme Court’s ruling at colleges and universities.
According to the Justice Department, Duke Law revised its mission statement after the Supreme Court’s decision to emphasize values including diversity of perspective and experience. Applicants were asked to answer short essay questions explaining how they would contribute to the school’s mission.
The investigation found that admissions reviewers were instructed to tag responses related to diversity and other characteristics, including factors such as Pell Grant eligibility, which the department said could serve as proxies for race. Although reviewers reportedly did not have access to applicants’ racial demographic information, the Justice Department alleged the tagging system allowed admissions staff to identify applicants in ways that furthered the school’s diversity objectives.
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The department also cited admissions data that it said showed racial disparities in acceptance rates. According to its findings, Black and Hispanic applicants were more likely to be admitted than white or Asian applicants with comparable academic credentials. It further claimed that during the 2024 and 2025 admissions cycles, the median LSAT score of rejected white and Asian applicants exceeded the median LSAT score of admitted Black applicants.
Under Title VI, institutions that receive federal funding are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
The Justice Department said it will seek to bring Duke Law’s admissions policies into compliance through settlement negotiations. If an agreement cannot be reached, the department said it is prepared to file a lawsuit against the school.