Conclusion

The admission practice of law schools has resulted in serious underrepresentation of minorities in general, and specifically, Black and Mexican Americans. In a 2003 report of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, the Commission noted:

Total minority representation in the profession currently is about 10 percent. Combined African American and Hispanic representation among lawyers was 7 percent in 1998, compared to 14.3 percent among accountants, 9.7 percent among physicians, 9.4 percent among college and university teachers, and 7.9 percent among engineers. The only professions with lower levels of minority representation were dentists (4.8 percent) and natural scientists (6.9 percent). The United States population is projected to be almost 60 percent minority by 2050.

Without a substantial improvement we will not be a multi-racial society where all groups are fairly represented--we will instead be a de facto South African Apartheid, where the power and control of society is disproportionately held by the White minority. If we don't want our grandchildren to live in that kind of society, efforts to have racial minorities fairly represented must start immediately. This paper objects to the use of cut-off scores, or any admission process that has a disparate impact on Blacks and other minorities. According to LSAC:

Cut-off LSAT scores (those below which no applicants will be considered) are strongly discouraged. Such boundaries should be used only if . . . [there is] clear evidence that those scoring below the cut-off have substantial difficulty doing satisfactory law school work . . . . Significantly, cut-off scores may have a greater adverse impact upon applicants from minority groups than upon the general applicant population.

Further, LSAC asserts that [t]hose who set admission policies and criteria should always keep in mind the fact that the LSAT does not measure every discipline-related skill necessary for academic work, nor does it measure other factors important to academic success and [s]chools currently using the [presumptive system] are encouraged to modify it because such methods may be using the LSAT score incorrectly. Most law schools, like the University of Dayton, have clear and consistent evidence that many students with LSAT scores that fall below their cut-off can successfully complete law school and become fine representatives of the legal profession. Law schools have many competing objectives and we should not let a measure of skills that is as imperfect as the LSAT dominate admission decisions. We certainly should not tolerate, much less engage in, any institutional or systemic racism.