Duke Law Under Investigation

The U.S. Department of Justice has determined that Duke Law School engaged in intentional discrimination, primarily against white and Asian students, in its admissions process.

This finding was announced in a press release on Thursday, with additional details outlined in a letter from Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the department’s Civil Rights Division, addressed to Duke’s external counsel. The letter indicated that the Law School breached Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids race-based discrimination, during the admissions of the Classes of 2026, 2027, and 2028.

The Justice Department noted that Duke Law School’s application included inquiries about how applicants would contribute to Duke Law’s mission. Reviewers of the applicants' responses were reportedly directed to identify “specific applicant characteristics,” which included tagging some applicants with a “Diversity/Services” label or flagging them based on other demographic factors, such as being a Pell Grant recipient, which can be associated with race.

Additionally, the Department analyzed standardized test scores, particularly the LSAT, for admitted students categorized by race, asserting that Duke discriminated against white and Asian applicants.

According to its analysis, the Department found that the median LSAT score for admitted Black applicants in 2024 was 164, while it was 170 for Hispanic applicants. In contrast, the admitted LSAT scores for Asian applicants were 173, and for white applicants, it was 172. The Department also discovered that the average LSAT scores of denied Asian and white applicants were higher than those of admitted Black applicants.