Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke was a 1978 Supreme Court case that addressed affirmative action in university admissions. Allan Bakke, a white applicant, was denied admission to UC Davis Medical School, which reserved spots for minority applicants. Bakke argued this violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. The Court ruled that while race could be a factor in admissions to promote diversity, strict quotas were unconstitutional. The decision established that affirmative action programs must be flexible and individualized, balancing race as a factor without creating fixed racial quotas.