Fifth Circuit Bans Race in University Admissions in Hopwood v. Texas

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Hopwood v. Texas on March 18, 1996, that the University of Texas School of Law could not use race as a factor in admissions even for diversity purposes, becoming the first circuit court to directly challenge Justice Powell's Bakke diversity rationale. The ruling applied across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, prompting Texas to enact the "Top 10 Percent Plan" guaranteeing admission to the top 10% of every high school graduating class. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leaving the circuit split unresolved for seven years until Grutter.