Judge dismisses Harvard lawsuit over admissions data request
A federal court ruled that the Justice Department failed to follow required procedural steps before seeking court orders for records related to racial preferences in admissions.
By Riya Zhao ·
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against Harvard University on Monday. The government had sought a court order compelling the university to release admissions records that it had requested during a compliance review.
The Justice Department launched the review in 2025 to investigate whether Harvard continued to use race as a factor in admissions decisions. The agency demanded five years of applicant data for the undergraduate, medical, and law schools. This request included grades, test scores, essays, extracurricular activities, and admissions outcomes, alongside each applicant's race and ethnicity.
Harvard alleged that the Justice Department thwarted its efforts to investigate potential discrimination. The government accused the university of refusing to comply with the federal investigation. It argued that the school failed to provide the necessary records to ensure affirmative action practices had ceased.
Judge Joun determined that the agency did not complete the necessary procedural steps before filing suit. He wrote that the government must first advise the recipient of its failure to comply and determine that voluntary compliance is unattainable. The judge noted that the ruling addresses only the prerequisites for judicial enforcement at this stage.
The decision does not resolve the underlying dispute over the data. Judge Joun stated that the ruling does not determine whether Harvard discriminated or whether the agencies may lawfully seek applicant-level data. He clarified that the university may ultimately be required to provide the information, but that issue remains open.
This dismissal marks another setback for the Trump administration in its legal conflicts with Harvard. The university has previously faced federal challenges regarding billions of dollars in funding cuts and allegations of antisemitism on campus. Trump officials maintain that their actions address anti-Jewish bias, while Harvard officials describe the measures as unconstitutional retaliation for refusing to adopt the administration's ideological views.
The dispute is part of a wider federal campaign against colleges accused of considering race in admissions. In October, the Justice Department found that the University of California, Los Angeles law school illegally considered race in its admissions process. That finding followed a similar determination regarding the university's medical school. The administration has also accused the UC Berkeley Law School and the University of California, San Diego medical school of illegally discriminating against white and Asian applicants.
