BOSTON (CN) — A federal judge on Friday ruled that it will be up to a jury to decide a lawsuit alleging that Harvard University’s admissions practices unfairly discriminate against Asian Americans.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs rejected motions from both Harvard and the nonprofit Students for Fair Admissions Inc. to decide the case in their favor ahead of a trial.
Burroughs said the two filings were "essentially mirror images of one another" that provided her with little to no evidence or information that would make a pre-trial ruling on the merits of the case possible.
The group Students For Fair Admissions filed the suit in 2014. It says Asian American applicants have the best academic records but the lowest admission rate among any race.
Harvard denies any bias and says it considers race only as one of many factors in deciding which students to admit.
The trial is now scheduled to begin Oct. 15.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.