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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Race-Based Enrollment|Case Remains Closed

(CN) - A U.S. Supreme Court decision on placement of students based on race did not provide a basis to reopen a similar Massachusetts case that lasted six years, the 1st Circuit ruled.

Samantha Comfort first challenged the policy of the Lynn School Committee in 1999. The policy considers race as a factor in determining student placement.

A divided court ruled in favor of the schools, and the story seemed to end when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

But Comfort asked for reconsideration in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Parents Involved in Community School v. Seattle School District No. 1.

Judge Selya rejected Comfort's contention that the highest court had "virtually overruled" the circuit's previous decision.

"The most patent flaw in this argument is that it ignores an abecedarian principle: that the Supreme Court decides only the case before it," Selya wrote.

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