On September 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a letter concluding that UC Berkeley School of Law intentionally discriminated against white and Asian applicants in its 2024 and 2025 admissions cycles, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (2023) 600 U.S. 181. The DOJ began its review of UC Berkeley’s admissions practices in March 2025 and expanded the investigation to include Berkeley Law the following month.
The DOJ relied on Berkeley Law’s application materials, public statements by Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, internal communications, and applicant-level admissions data. The findings letter asserted that Berkeley Law used essays and other racial proxies to continue considering race after the Students for Fair Admissions decision. Among other things, the law school’s application invited applicants to explain how their perspective or experience would contribute to diversity and identified race and ethnicity as characteristics applicants could discuss. It also asked applicants to select a single “primary identity” from a list of racial and ethnic categories.
The DOJ’s statistical analysis found that, after accounting for LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs, Black applicants had 6.5 times greater odds of admission than comparable white applicants in 2024 and 5.8 times greater odds in 2025. The DOJ stated that Asian applicants were disadvantaged to a similar degree. It also found persistent differences in LSAT scores among admitted students. The letter stated that in the 2024 and 2025 classes combined, half of admitted Black applicants had LSAT scores below those of 95% of admitted white applicants, and 37% had scores below those of 99% of admitted white applicants. The DOJ concluded that the magnitude and persistence of the disparities constituted substantial evidence of intentional discrimination.
The DOJ is seeking a voluntary resolution agreement requiring the University to bring its admissions and oversight practices into compliance with federal law. The DOJ and U.S. Department of Education stated that the government would file suit if a voluntary resolution could not be reached. Berkeley Law denied the allegations, stating that race is not considered in its admissions decisions and that the school complies with Proposition 209, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.
Letter from Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, to Tania Faransso, WilmerHale (Sept. 9, 2026) https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1460556/dl