6th Circuit court says affirmative action appeal is moot

MLive.com (Michigan)
8/28/2007, 5:55 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a challenge to letting Michigan voters decide an anti-affirmative action ballot proposal in November 2006, ruling that the issue is moot.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati denied the appeal by opponents of the constitutional amendment despite agreeing that the measure "found its way on the ballot through methods that undermine the integrity and fairness of our democratic processes."
The three-judge panel, however, said the chance to keep Proposal 2 off the ballot "has long since passed." The measure, which was approved by voters, bans preferential treatment based on race and gender at public universities in Michigan.
Before the 2006 election, U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow in Detroit ruled that opponents proved the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative "committed voter fraud in obtaining signatures in support of the petition." But they did not prove the MCRI violated the federal Voting Rights Act by depriving minorities of equal access to the political process, he said.
The 6th Circuit later refused to grant an injunction to keep the anti-affirmative action proposal off the ballot.
On Tuesday, the appeals panel ruled that opponents of the measure wrongly tried to appeal on a different issue. Other lawsuits challenging all or parts of Proposal 2 continue in federal courts.
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