The Supreme Court's Next Big Showdown

In the coming term, the justices may go after civil rights

"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race" — Chief Justice John Roberts in a 2007 casePhoto illustration by 731; Photographs by Roger L. Wollenberg/via Bloomberg; C Squared Studios/Getty Images

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By Greg Stohr

July 13, 2012 at 2:15 AM UTC

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This article is part of the July 16, 2012 issue of businessweek.

It’ll be tough to top the drama of the Supreme Court season that just ended. Or so it would seem. When the justices reconvene in October, they’re likely to consider some of the most contentious social issues dividing the country. And judging from snippets in past opinions, that could mean an upheaval in U.S. civil rights law.

The court has already announced that it will hear a challenge to affirmative action in higher education. In that case, a white student rejected by the University of Texas is arguing that the school doesn’t need to choose students based on racial preferences because it already achieves diversity by guaranteeing admission to state residents in the top 10 percent of their high school class.