WASHINGTON — The most influential friend-of-the-court brief in living memory was filed by a group of retired military officers in a 2003 affirmative action case.
When the case was argued, the justices echoed the brief’s argument that military preparedness would be threatened if service academies could not ensure a diverse officer corps. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s majority opinion, allowing race-conscious admissions at public universities, quoted at length from the brief.
Read more in The New York Times.