This morning the US Supreme Court issued two decisions concerning affirmative action in the admissions policies of the University of Michigan. By a 5-4 decision, it affirmed the race-based policy of the University's law school. By a 6-3 decision, it struck down a similar policy for undergraduate admissions. In the law school case (Grutter v. Bollinger) the Court issued six different opinions among the nine Justices. In the undergraduate case (Gratz v. Bollinger), it issued perhaps its all-time record, seven opinions in one case. Despite that large number of opinions, some of which are remarkably hostile toward one another, the...
