Attorney Discusses Supreme Court Cases

An inside look at the workings of the U.S. Supreme Court was revealed to GR students who attended a presentation on October 4 by Jonathan Alger, Assistant General Counsel at the University of Michigan. Mr. Alger coordinated the university's efforts in its two landmark Supreme Court admissions lawsuits. He talked about the critical need to manage public relations during the lawsuits and the difficulties of coordinating the numerous amicus briefs that were filed by Fortune 500 companies including Steelcase in Grand Rapids, General Motors Corporation, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Michigan Attorney General, and even the White House.

Mr. Alger stressed that the affirmative action cases were not just about the legalities. There were human personalities involved, including those of the nine Supreme Court Justices. From the beginning, he said, the University of Michigan targeted Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as the "swing vote" on the Court. Both Justice O'Connor and Justice Ruth Ginsberg had a highly personal point of view regarding minority admissions, recalling during oral arguments that they had attended law school when there were very few female students. Justice Ginsberg shared a memory of "Ladies Day," which was a day specifically set aside for women to be called upon in class.

Mr. Alger concluded by stating that litigation is important but has its limits. He said now the focus should be on addressing the constitutional issues underlying the problems that led to the affirmative action cases in the first place.

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This Page was last updated on: 10/12/2004