Barbara Grutter
Petitioner
Kirk O. Kolbo, Counsel of RecordIn 1997, Barbara Grutter, a white 43-year-old mother who had started her own business and graduated from college 18 years earlier, applied to the University of Michigan Law School. She was placed on a waiting list for admission and then rejected. Six months later, she filed suit against the University on behalf of herself and other "disfavored racial groups," alleging that she was discriminated against on the basis of her race because of the University’s stated policy of granting admissions preferences for blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. The Michigan policy, she argued, denied her equal…
