Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) Definition

The U.S. Supreme Court's first major decision on affirmative action. The Court ruled that the University of California could consider race as part of a competitive admissions process as long as it did not use quotas.

In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard College, 600 U.S. ___ (2023) (university admission program that considered race as a factor violated the 14th Amendment equal protection clause), the Supreme Court effectively—but without expressly saying so—overruled Bakke.