Appellate Court Rejects Race-Based Scholarships

By Mark Walsh

A federal appeals court has ruled that a University of Maryland scholarship program for black students is unconstitutional unless it is shown to be a remedy for the present-day effects of past acts of racial discrimination.

The Jan. 31 ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va., is legally binding only in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

It is likely, however, that the ruling will have implications for race-based scholarship programs in...