SIVACRACY.NET: Veterans Preferences

In 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Feeney v. Massachusetts:

"During her 12-year tenure as a state employee, appellee, who is not a veteran, had passed a number of open competitive civil service examinations for better jobs, but because of Massachusetts' veterans' preference statute, she was ranked in each instance below male veterans who had achieved lower test scores than appellee. Under the statute, all veterans who qualify for state civil service positions must be considered for appointment ahead of any qualifying nonveterans. The statutory preference, which is available to "any person, male or female, including a nurse," who was honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces after at least 90 days of active service, at least one day of which was during "wartime," operates overwhelmingly to the advantage of males. Appellee brought an action in Federal District Court, alleging that the absolute-preference formula established in the Massachusetts statute inevitably operates to exclude women from consideration for the best state civil service jobs and thus discriminates against women in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." ...

The Court held: "Massachusetts, in granting an absolute lifetime preference to veterans, has not discriminated against women in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment ."

Today at OrinKerr.com we learn:

"Mark Nussbaum is a veteran of the Iraq war, and the recipient of a Bronze Star, who returned from Iraq and applied to law school. Unfortunately, he has had trouble being admitted; according to his attorney’s statement, he has been denied admission to about a dozen law schools so far. The problem? According to his lawyer, Nussbaum’s grades and LSAT score aren’t particularly good.

"The solution? It seems that Nussbaum hired an attorney, who has written letters to law school deans at the schools that rejected him. The attorney’s letter, cc’d to the President and Donald Rumsfeld, urges the schools to admit Nussbaum on the strength of his personal story. Here is an excerpt from the letter sent to NYU Law School dean Richard Revesz:

I respectfully submit to you, now is the time regardless of your views of the war, to help place all the incredible “Mark Nussbaums” in our country at equal footing. Reward four (4) years of risking his life, protecting you and I with a small insignificant dream in the scope of it all, entrance and graduation in Law school.

While I’ll agree and understand you may feel bottled up in the four (4) walls of your institution fixated on grades and academics, let me respectfully remind you although a legal education is imperative becoming an attorney, the core should be desire to help those in need, whereby Capt. Mark Nussbaum has the majority of applicants beat.

"No word yet from Dean Revesz."

Veterans' preferences have been very popular in the past (see e.g. Feeney) and I suspect we will see (or are already seeing) a resurgence. On the upside, given the proportionately high rates of people of color in the armed services, preferences for veterans could add racial diversity to our student body. However, the discrimination by the military against (among others) women and homosexuals makes such preferences very problematic.

Comments

Maybe, the problem is with having preferences of any kind. It's a zero sum game. In a zero sum game, including one means that you exclude another. I have always thought lotteries to be the fairest way to choose.

Posted by: Jardinero1 | March 17, 2006 12:59 PM

Captain Nussbaum is a national treasure; his heroism is exemplary. It is individuals like Captain Nussbaum that allow us Americans to have Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Now it is time to show that we do not turn our back on our veterans. Let this incredible individual pursue his happiness and become an attorney!

Dean Revesz- admit Captain Nussbaum to NYU law school!!

Posted by: Lois Lane | March 19, 2006 08:47 PM

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