One of the most high profile cases on the Supreme Court's docket for next term is Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, a challenge to Harvard University's use of race in undergraduate admissions. The petitioners claim that Harvard is discriminating against Asian applicants and are asking the Court to hold that federal law prohibits any use of race in college admissions, while Harvard maintains its admissions practices are consistent with the Supreme Court's decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, and that this precedent should be upheld.
Assuming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed to the Supreme Court this spring, one of her first decisions will be whether to recuse in this case. Since 2016, Judge Jackson has been a member of Harvard's Board of Overseers, which (according to Harvard's website) is "one of Harvard's two governing boards" and "plays an integral role in the governance of the University" by fulfilling oversight and advisory functions. Judge Jackson's term on the Board ends this year, but she has been a member throughout the pendency of this litigation.
