The Justice Department says Duke Law illegally considered race in admissions for three incoming classes.
Why it matters: The finding could become a major test of how far schools can go in using race-neutral proxies after the Supreme Court's 2023 affirmative action ruling. It also signals more federal pressure on elite law schools and other graduate programs.
- DOJ Civil Rights Division said Duke Law intentionally discriminated based on race in admissions for its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes.
- The department says the school violated Title VI and the Supreme Court's 2023 Students for Fair Admissions decision.
- AP reported the DOJ said Black and Hispanic applicants were admitted at higher rates than white and Asian applicants with similar credentials.
- Duke Law said it is reviewing the letter and remains committed to following the law in line with its academic mission.
The Justice Department on August 6 said its Civil Rights Division found that Duke University School of Law intentionally discriminated based on race in admissions for its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes. The department said the school violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court's 2023 Students for Fair Admissions ruling, which barred race discrimination in higher-education admissions.
In its findings, the DOJ said Duke Law used short-answer essay prompts and review tags such as Diversity/Services, along with indicators like Pell Grant status, as proxies to advance racial diversity goals while not collecting racial demographic data directly in reviewer materials. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said, "Duke Law School doesn’t get a free pass to discriminate against white and Asian students simply because it thinks it has good intentions."
AP reported the DOJ's findings letter said Black and Hispanic applicants were substantially more likely to be admitted than white and Asian applicants with similar academic credentials. AP also reported that in 2024 and 2025, the median LSAT scores of rejected white and Asian applicants exceeded those of admitted Black applicants.
Duke Law said it was reviewing the DOJ letter and that it remains committed to following the law in a manner consistent with its academic mission. The DOJ said it will continue to monitor compliance and seek settlement negotiations, and said it will file suit if talks fail. The action follows a March 2025 DOJ memorandum to U.S. law school deans warning that race-based preferences and even indirect proxies for race are unlawful.
The Duke matter is part of a broader federal campaign. AP reported the DOJ has made similar race-admissions findings or enforcement moves this year at other schools, including Yale's medical school and UCLA's medical school.
By the numbers
- 3 - Incoming Duke Law classes covered by the DOJ findings: 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- 2 - Admissions measures AP said the DOJ highlighted: median LSAT scores and applicant race-linked outcomes.
- 2025 - Year of the DOJ memo warning law school deans that race-based preferences and proxies are unlawful.
Yes, but: The sources reviewed here do not include Duke Law's full rebuttal or the DOJ's full findings letter, so the underlying methodology and statistical evidence have not been independently verified in detail.
What's next: The DOJ said it will seek settlement negotiations and could file suit if talks fail. Duke Law has said it is reviewing the letter.