California Court of Appeal

Trial court's judgment in favor of defendant is affirmed where a school board policy aiming to achieve social diversity by using neighborhood demographics in assigning students to schools is not discriminatory as it does not show partiality, prejudice, or preference to any student on the basis of race. Educators who include a general recognition of the demographics of neighborhoods in student assignments without classifying a student by race do not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to an individual or group on the basis of race.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/17/2009
• Published 03/17/2009

Judges

• SEPULVEDA, J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Pacific Legal Foundation, Alan W. Foutz, Paul J. Beard II, Sacramento, for Appellant American Civil Rights Foundation., Miriam Rokeach, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Former Directors of the Board of Education for the Berkeley Unified School District., Brenda E. Sutton-Wills, Alice O'Brien, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of California Teachers Association.


• For Appellees:
  
• Keker & Van Nest, Jon B. Streeter, Benjamin B. Au, San Francisco, for Respondents Berkeley Unified School District et al., American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, Jory C. Steele, Greta S. Hansen, Alan L. Schlosser, San Francisco;  Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Kendra Fox-Davis, Charles Forster, Robert Rubin, San Francisco;  Catherine E. Lhamon, Los Angeles, ACLU Foundation of Southern California, for Defendant-Interveners.