{"id":2449500,"date":"2025-06-19T16:33:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T20:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-aligned-legal-group-sues-michigan-law-review-over-illegal-dei-bias-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T16:35:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T20:35:00","slug":"trump-aligned-legal-group-sues-michigan-law-review-over-illegal-dei-bias-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-aligned-legal-group-sues-michigan-law-review-over-illegal-dei-bias-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump-aligned legal group sues Michigan Law Review over \u2018Illegal DEI\u2019 bias &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-aligned-legal-group-sues-michigan-law-review-over-illegal-dei-bias-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2449500&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legal-group-sues-new-york-state-over-race-based-covid-treatment\/\" title=\"... Group Sues New York State Over ...-Based COVID Treatment\">conservative legal group aligned<\/a> with Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the university of Michigan and its law review, claiming that the selection process for editors and articles is biased against white, male, heterosexual, and conservative individuals. The lawsuit, initiated in the U.S. District Court for Michigan, challenges the &#8220;holistic review&#8221; method used by the Michigan Law Review, alleging it discriminates in favor of women, racial minorities, and LGBT candidates. <\/p>\n<p>The group, called Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed too Racial Preferences (FASORP), is represented by attorney Jonathan Mitchell of America Frist Legal. The lawsuit asserts violations of Title VI and the 14th AmendmentS equal protection clause, demanding a revamp of the law review&#8217;s selection policies, a halt to discriminatory criteria, and federal oversight. FASORP claims to represent professors and a law student whose contributions were unjustly rejected based on their race and sexual orientation.<\/p>\n<p>The suit follows a broader legal strategy employed by America First Legal, which has recently expanded its efforts to challenge diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, particularly after a Supreme Court ruling against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/group-trying-to-convince-asians-that-america-is-oppressive-has-ties-to-chinese-state-media\/\" title=\"Group Trying To Convince Asians That ... Is Oppressive Has Ties To Chinese State Media\">race-based affirmative action<\/a>. The University of Michigan, facing pressure from civil rights groups to uphold DEI policies, is also undergoing changes following a decision to close its central DEI office.<\/p>\n<p>This lawsuit is part of a rising trend of legal challenges to DEI policies across educational institutions and corporate settings, promoting arguments for a colorblind approach to equality under the law.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump-aligned legal group sues Michigan Law Review over &lsquo;Illegal DEI&rsquo; bias<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tpd-featured-video\">\n<div id=\"Brid_21235\" class=\"brid\" style=\"width:1280;height:720;\"> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A conservative legal group backed by top allies of President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a>&nbsp;is suing the&nbsp;University of Michigan and its flagship law journal, alleging its editor and article selection process illegally discriminates against white, male, heterosexual, and conservative applicants.<\/p>\n<p>Filed late Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/federal-courts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Eastern District of Michigan<\/a>, the complaint targets the&nbsp;Michigan Law Review&rsquo;s so-called &ldquo;holistic review&rdquo; process. The lawsuit claims the process favors women, racial minorities, and LGBT candidates while penalizing white and Asian applicants, especially those with conservative or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/christianity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Christian<\/a>&nbsp;views, based on race, ideology, and religion.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3446692\/us-require-social-media-screening-revival-foreign-student-visas\/\">US to require social media screening in revival of foreign student visas<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3444398\/la-unified-approves-500-million-bonds-settle-sexual-misconduct-cases\/\">Los Angeles Unified approves $500 million in bonds to settle sexual misconduct cases<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/3439423\/clearing-up-confusion-biden-title-ix-rewrite\/\">Clearing up the confusion sown by Biden&#8217;s rewrite of Title IX<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Illegal DEI practices permeate everything that the Michigan Law Review does,&rdquo; the complaint stated, pointing to language in a job description for the role of the &ldquo;Executive Development Editor,&rdquo; which asks that the role should &ldquo;facilitate&rdquo; DEI values through &ldquo;recruitment, journal culture, and scholarship.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, brought by the group Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences, cites violations of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/title-vi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Title VI<\/a>, the 14th Amendment&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fourteenth-amendment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">equal protection clause<\/a>, and equal rights under the law. The group is represented by prominent lawyer&nbsp;Jonathan Mitchell&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/america-first-legal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">America First Legal<\/a>, a conservative firm founded by Trump&rsquo;s senior adviser&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/stephen-miller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Stephen Miller<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 32-page <a href=\"https:\/\/media.aflegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/19114605\/FASORP-v.-Michigan-Law-Review-Association-Lawsuit.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">complaint<\/a> alleges the journal has abandoned merit-based criteria in favor of ideological and identity-based preferences that disproportionately exclude white, male, heterosexual, and religious contributors. FASORP says the&nbsp;<em>Law Review<\/em>&rsquo;s opaque scoring of personal statements and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >writing samples masks discriminatory decision-making<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No American should ever face discrimination based on their race,&rdquo; said Gene Hamilton, president of America First Legal. &ldquo;This taxpayer-funded institution is using secret committees to enforce illegal DEI quotas that reward identity over merit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>FASORP said it represents three anonymous white male professors whose articles were rejected and a second-year law student who claims his application to join the journal was denied due to race and sexual orientation. The group previously sued&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/harvard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Harvard<\/a> University,&nbsp;New York University, and&nbsp;Northwestern&nbsp;University over similar practices.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint seeks a court-ordered overhaul of the Michigan Law Review&rsquo;s policies, an end to discriminatory selection standards, and a federal monitor to ensure compliance. It also calls for the suspension of federal funds until the university adopts race-neutral procedures.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit is the latest in a series of high-profile challenges from America First Legal, which has mounted a national legal campaign since the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Supreme Court&rsquo;s 2023 decision<\/a>&nbsp;striking down race-based affirmative action in college admissions. Since then, the group has expanded its legal strategy beyond academia, using the ruling as a springboard to challenge corporate DEI initiatives in the private sector.<\/p>\n<p>Even before the high court&rsquo;s landmark affirmative action decision, AFL filed employment discrimination suits against major companies, including&nbsp;Morgan Stanley&nbsp;and&nbsp;McKinsey &amp; Company, alleging illegal race and gender quotas in hiring, training, and promotion. The group&rsquo;s legal efforts have drawn praise from conservative lawmakers and watchdog groups that say AFL is restoring colorblind equality under the law.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit against the University of Michigan arrives as left-wing civil rights groups pressure the university <a href=\"https:\/\/michiganadvance.com\/briefs\/justice-organizations-call-on-u-of-m-law-school-to-uphold-diversity-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">to maintain its DEI agenda<\/a>. In April, groups including the Legal Defense Fund and National Women&rsquo;s Law Center urged Michigan to resist &ldquo;conservative attacks&rdquo; on campus diversity initiatives.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3361819\/university-of-michigan-close-dei-offices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TO CLOSE ITS DEI OFFICES\">UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TO CLOSE ITS DEI OFFICES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Trump administration<\/a>&nbsp;has made clear it will not fund DEI-based programs in federally supported institutions. The University of Michigan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3361819\/university-of-michigan-close-dei-offices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">recently announced plans to shut down<\/a> its central DEI office, though the plaintiffs in this case argue that this has not resulted in a total end to DEI policies at the university.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>contacted the university and its law review program for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_21235\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"playlist\":\"21235\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump-backed group sues Michigan Law Review over DEI bias<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2449501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/AP24030621032097.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[39628,57506,3634],"class_list":["post-2449500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-legal-group","tag-michigan-law-review","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/AP24030621032097.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449500"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2449504,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449500\/revisions\/2449504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2449501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}