The Trump administration is accusing the University of California, Berkeley School of Law of using race in its admissions process.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education announced their findings Wednesday, saying Berkeley Law discriminated against white and Asian applicants while favoring Black applicants with similar or lower academic credentials. The departments said the practice violates federal civil rights law and the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that barred race-based admissions preferences in higher education.
The DOJ said its review covered admissions for the 2024 and 2025 classes. It said that it found significant differences in admissions outcomes among racial groups. It said that in 2025, Black applicants had odds of admission 5.8 times higher than comparable white applicants.
Berkeley Law has maintained that it does not discriminate on the basis of race.
The DOJ said it plans to seek a voluntary agreement with Berkeley to bring the school’s admissions practices into compliance with federal law. If those efforts do not succeed, the department said it could take the matter to court.
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