Trump administration alleges UC Berkeley law school favors Black applicants

Officials from the Justice Department (DOJ) and Education Department alleged Wednesday that the University of California, Berkeley School of Law favors Black applicants over white and Asian applicants, in violation of federal law.

In a letter to attorney Tania Faransso, who is representing the law school, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the institution “deliberately discriminated” against Asian and white applicants based on race.

By doing so, Berkeley Law violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , which bars the use of federal funds to further racial discrimination, Dhillon alleged. The DOJ is seeking to enter into a resolution agreement with the college to ensure it complies with federal law.

“This discrimination is apparent from the significant disparity in objective academic metrics between racially preferred applicants, and applicants from non-preferred races,” Dhillon wrote, accusing the law school of discriminating by using racial proxies and certain essay prompts in admissions.

The DOJ, in conjunction with the Education Department, launched the investigation into the California law school in March 2025, less than two years after the Supreme Court struck a blow to affirmative action programs that U.S. universities have employed in admissions for decades

In her letter to Faransso, Dhillon alleged Berkeley Law violated the Civil Rights Act “well after” the high court handed down its 6-3 decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. vs. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Berkeley Law Lean Edwin Chemerinsky said in a statement the college “scrupulously complies” with state and federal law prohibiting institutions from considering race in employment or admissions.

“Our admissions policy is clear that race is not considered in any way in admissions decisions. Proposition 209, federal statutes, and the Supreme Court’s decisions do not preclude schools from pursuing diversity so long as they give no preferences based on race,” Chemerinsky added, referencing the aforementioned California statute . “Berkeley Law does not do so.”

In 2024 and 2025, a Black applicant had 6.5 times and 5.8 times higher odds of admission, respectively, to Berkeley Law than a “comparable” white applicant with similar qualifications, according to Dhillon’s letter.

The median Black admit to the law school, meanwhile, in 2024 had an average Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) score that was eight points lower than the median white and Asian applicant, per data in Dhillon’s letter.

In 2025, the median Black applicant had an LSAT score that was five points lower than the median white and Asian applicant. Across 2024 and 2025, half of admitted Black students had LSAT scores below 95 percent of admitted white applicants, Dhillon noted.

As of last October, 516 of the 1,128 Berkeley Law students were white, according to data from the college. There were 293 Asian and 51 Black students at that time, along with 130 Hispanic students.

“The data produced by Berkeley Law demonstrates a strong intentional bias against Asian and white applicants, with a corresponding bias in favor of black applicants,” wrote Dhillon, who helms the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

In her letter, Dhillon also referenced Chemerinsky writing in 2020 the college “must continue to aggressively pursue” diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and ideology.

The Trump administration has targeted diversity initiatives at universities around the country over the last 19-plus months. The DOJ in August accused the Duke University School of Law of unlawfully discriminating against white and Asian applicants.

Last week, the Treasury Department and IRS proposed to end the tax-exempt status for private schools that provide preferential treatment to minority students.