DOJ says UCLA law school illegally used race in their admissions

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday accused the law school at the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) of discriminating against white and Asian students in its admissions process.

The Trump administration has made similar allegations against the admissions processes at UCLA’s medical school and the law schools at Duke University and the University of California, Berkeley.

“Like many of its peer institutions, UCLA Law School runs a two-tiered admissions system whose academic bar for acceptance shifts up or down depending on the color of your skin,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, in a statement .

“The use of race as a thumb on the scale that helps or disadvantages any student is illegal,” Dhillon continued. “The Department will continue to enforce equal treatment under the law everywhere — including in our nation’s law schools.”

The DOJ said its analysis found the UCLA School of Law rejected white and Asian students who applied with the same LSAT scores as Black and Hispanic students it admitted for incoming classes in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The UCLA School of Law disputed the accusation in a Thursday statement , saying the school was “committed to making admissions decisions in compliance with all applicable laws.”

“Students are admitted through a comprehensive, merit-based review process that considers each applicant’s achievements and experiences,” the statement continued. “We are confident in our process.”

The Supreme Court limited the consideration of race in college admissions in its 2023 affirmative action decision.

The Trump administration has cited this ruling in its broader efforts to crack down on allegations of discrimination at universities across the country.

In April, a federal judge dismissed the DOJ’s civil rights lawsuit against Harvard University that accused the school of failing to address antisemitism on its campus.