美国司法部指控杜克大学法学院在招生过程中非法考虑种族因素[1]。尽管该校声称采用种族中立政策，但司法部认为学校实际上通过个人论文和第一代大学生身份等替代因素来识别特定种族的申请者[1]。司法部正寻求与杜克法学院达成和解[1]。
司法部助理检察长哈默特·K·迪伦在声明中表示："杜克法学院不能因为出于好意就获准对白人和亚裔学生进行歧视"[1]。根据司法部的数据，在2024年和2025年期间，被拒绝的白人和亚裔申请者的法学院入学考试中位数超过被录取的黑人申请者的中位数[1]。
此举是在2023年最高法院裁定高等教育机构的平权行动违法后做出的[1]。司法部最近对耶鲁大学医学院和加州大学洛杉矶分校医学院作出了相同认定，并在6月宣布对15所其他医学院进行调查[1]。
The U.S. Justice Department has accused Duke Law School of unlawfully taking race into account during admissions decisions, despite the institution's stated commitment to race-neutral policies [1]. According to the department's allegations, Duke Law School employed alternative factors such as personal essays and first-generation college student status as proxies to identify applicants from specific racial backgrounds [1].
Harmeet K. Dhillon, an Assistant Attorney General, stated that "Duke Law School cannot be permitted to discriminate against white and Asian applicants simply because it acts with good intentions" [1]. The Justice Department presented data showing that in 2024 and 2025, rejected white and Asian applicants had median Law School Admission Test scores exceeding those of admitted Black applicants [1]. The department is seeking to reach a settlement with Duke Law School [1].
This action follows the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling that affirmative action programs in higher education institutions are unlawful [1]. The Justice Department has recently made similar determinations regarding Yale Medical School and UCLA Medical School, and announced in June an investigation into fifteen additional medical schools [1].