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Florida Homeschooling *
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101
Subject
Political Science
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
rtf
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2
Uploaded by PresidentJackalMaster674
CIVIL RIGHTS FRQ—OPTION 2
Summary: United States v. Virginia (1996)
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) boasted a long and proud tradition as Virginia's only
exclusively male public undergraduate higher learning institution. The United States sued
Virginia and VMI alleging that the school's male-only admissions policy was unconstitutional. On
appeal from a District Court ruling favoring VMI, the Fourth Circuit reversed. It found VMI's
admissions policy to be unconstitutional. Virginia, in response to the Fourth Circuit's reversal,
proposed to create the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL) as a parallel program
for women. On appeal from the District Court's affirmation of the plan, the Fourth Circuit ruled
that despite the difference in prestige between the VMI and VWIL, the two programs would offer
"substantively comparable" educational benefits. The United States appealed to the Supreme
Court.
The Court held that VMI's male-only admissions policy was unconstitutional because it failed to
show "exceedingly persuasive justification" for VMI's gender-biased admissions policy. Virginia
failed to support its claim that single-sex education contributes to educational diversity because
it did not show that VMI's male-only admissions policy was created or maintained in order to
further educational diversity. Furthermore, Virginia's VWIL could not offer women the same
benefits as VMI offered men. The VWIL would not provide women with the same rigorous
military training, faculty, courses, facilities, financial opportunities, or alumni reputation and
connections that VMI affords its male cadets.
Source: Oyez, United States v. Virginia
a.
Identify the constitutional provision that is common in both United States v. Virginia (1996)
and Brown v. Board of Education (I) (1954).
b.
Based on the constitutional provision provided in part (A), explain how the decision in Brown
v. Board of Education (I) (1954) compares to the decision in United States v. Virginia (1996).
c.
Explain how voters who disagree with the holding in United States v. Virginia (1996) could act
to limit its impact.
a.
The constitutional provision that appears in both cases is the Equal
Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, that deals with issues of equal treatment with
no discrimination on basis of things like sex, race, or gender.
b.
Both case decisions are comparable in that they both ruled in
favor of a less segregation that derives from the Equal Protection Clause. In Brown, the Court
ruled in favor of desegregation of schools, while in Virginia, the Court ruled that the policy of the
male-only admissions of the college violated Equal Protection of the Fourteenth Amendment,
making both of the decisions ones that increased equal rights.
c.
Voters who disagree with the holding in United States v
Virginia could use various methods to limits its impact. First they could petition the Supreme
Court to rehear the case, however they would need to provide a strong argument for why they
disagree with the decision. If they failed in this endeavor they could also limit its impact by
advocating for new legislation that
limit the impacts of the case.
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