Supreme Court takes up school-admissions bias case and home-distilling ban
Justices add two major cases to the 2026-27 term, with arguments expected early next year
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 19 agreed to hear Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education. The case asks whether challengers to a facially neutral admissions policy must show that the targeted racial group suffered an aggregate disparate impact relative to its share of the applicant pool. The dispute involves magnet programs in a Maryland school district. Challengers allege the revised admissions rules disadvantaged top-scoring Asian American applicants. The district disputes that characterization. The court also granted Department of Justice v. McNutt, on whether the federal ban on distilling spirits at home is a valid use of Congress's taxing-related powers. The Fifth Circuit struck the ban down in April. The Sixth Circuit upheld it in Ream v. Department of the Treasury, and the justices are holding that case. Both cases will likely be argued in early 2027, with decisions expected by late June or July. The court denied review in several other high-profile matters, including the 9/11 plea disputes.
Why it mattersThe admissions case could reset how plaintiffs prove race discrimination against neutral policies, and the distilling case tests the limits of Congress's tax-enforcement powers.
