Assoc. Dean Amar Publishes Op-ed in NY Times Online

Vikram Amar, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law, has published an essay on affirmative action in university admissions in "Room for Debate," a feature of the New York Times website.  Amar was part of a group of experts solicited by the Times to contribute viewpoints as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear Fisher v. Texas, a major affirmative action case involving a white plaintiff who claims she was denied admission to the University of Texas partly on the basis of race.

"It's tough to know when affirmative action has outlived its usefulness," wrote Amar.  "But I would remind justices who, like me, care about the original understanding of the Constitution's terms that the framers of the Equal Protection Clause themselves used race-based laws to help African-Americans as a class. As wise as the court is, sometimes it should let the political processes decide when contested policies should sunset."

Vikram Amar, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law with the UC Davis School of Law, is a national authority in the fields of constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, and remedies. His biweekly column for Justia.com, a leading provider of online legal information, centers on his expertise in constitutional law.

"Room for Debate"