Justice Department alleges Duke Law School used race in admissions decisions

WASHINGTON, DC (WWAY) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it has found Duke University School of Law violated federal civil rights law by intentionally discriminating on the basis of race in admissions for its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes.

According to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the findings conclude Duke Law’s admissions practices violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which prohibited the use of race in college admissions.

The department alleges Duke Law continued to prioritize racial diversity after the Supreme Court ruling by using application essays and internal admissions tags to identify applicants whose backgrounds could advance the school’s diversity goals.

Federal officials also claim that Black and Hispanic applicants had a higher likelihood of admission than White and Asian applicants with similar academic credentials. The department said that in 2024 and 2025, the median LSAT scores of rejected White and Asian applicants exceeded the median LSAT scores of admitted Black applicants.

The Justice Department said it plans to pursue settlement negotiations with Duke to bring its admissions practices into compliance with federal law. If an agreement cannot be reached, the department said it may file a lawsuit.

Duke University had not publicly responded to the Justice Department’s findings at the time of publication.