"I have a son who is African-American. So I deeply believe in the idea of fostering integration and greater equality of outcomes in our society. But I've got grave doubts that affirmative action in higher education is the way to do that," said Richard Sander.
Today, Sander is "accusing the State Bar of California of caving in to liberal activists by refusing to work with him in possibly proving his unpopular premise once and for all."
Because of this, the law professor is unable to move forward and, ultimately, unable to prove his idea "that black students who attend less-elite law schools—for which they were more academically fit—were half as likely as their counterparts at prestigious law schools to fail the bar exam on their first attempt."
"We knew this was a controversial issue," said Sander, "and I was prepared that they might turn us down. But I was shocked at the way they did it...It suggests that backers of current affirmative action programs are afraid of the facts."
However, the State Bar disagrees, explaining that those taking the bar exam offer their races "believing [race] will only be used for studies related to the exam."
"Applicants are advised that gender and racial/ethnic data are collected for the purpose of studies conducted by the committee as it determines are necessary to ensure the validity and reliability of the examination process," said Gayle Murphy, the State Bar's senior executive for admissions. "Applicants are not advised that the personal information they provide may be shared with others for purposes unrelated to the bar examination."
"We're not against people doing research," continued Murphy. "And nothing prohibits [Sander] from contacting the law schools directly or even the students themselves."
Those supporting Sander come from the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, "a bipartisan organization that collects and studies information on discrimination."
"We believe that it is important to encourage research on this date in order to better understand the important questions raised by Dr. Sander's research," wrote five of eight commissioners in a letter to Sheldon Sloan, state bar president.
And commission member and professor at University of San Diego School of Law Gail Heriot said, "What professor Sander has shown is extremely important. We can't say for sure whether or not his conclusions are correct. That will take more study."
John Steele, "a special counsel in Fish & Richardson's Redwood City, CA, office who has taught law school courses on the legal profession," says the article, also agrees with Sander.
"I can assure you from firsthand experience," Steele wrote, "that the problem in understanding and combating exclusion is the absence of careful statistical studies, not the existence of them. In the absence of well-constructed studies based on sound data," he continued, "ignorance reigns."
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