Arguments for both sides began in October of 1977, and several justices found that they were split fiercely over the issue. By February of 1978, the case was still undecided. At that point, the votes were split four-to-three, with one justice, Justice Powell, left undecided. Those against the University of California’s program were Chief Justice Warren Burger, William Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, and Potter Stewart; those for the program were Thurgood Marshall – the leader of the advocates in the Court – William Brennan, and Byron White. Burger and the other critics were Marshall’s major opponents, because not only were they against any kind of affirmative action, but they did not even wish to address the problem in this case; they wanted to focus only on whether Bakke should have been admitted to the university in the first place. Powell, the undecided justice, wanted to address the issue, but was uncertain as to whether that the University of California’s program was uncon
This case, as well as the issue of affirmative action, has recently become an issue in the Supreme Court again. In recent years, many different cases affecting affirmative action have come before the court. One case that the court has accepted for its recent term examines whether colleges should eliminate racial preference systems in admissions or whether quotas are still needed to further curtail the use of affirmative action. Obviously affirmative action and reverse discrimination are still heavily debated issues. This is because each issue affects all people of all races and ethnicities. Affirmative action in the future will be probably one of the most heated issues in government and the debate over whether it should be included in the U.S. educational system will eventually come to a conclusion in the near future.
Marshall released his own opinion on the case as well. He was outraged that the same Constitution that had previously allowed laws discriminating against blacks was be
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