The U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Education announced joint investigative findings Wednesday concluding that the University of California, Berkeley School of Law deliberately discriminates against white and Asian students in its admissions process.

According to the announcement, Berkeley Law's conduct violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination based on race or color, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which prohibited race-based considerations in higher education admissions.

"Berkeley Law School's deliberate efforts to circumvent the Supreme Court's decision in SFFA demonstrate a complete disregard for the rule of law," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "The Department will continue to aggressively pursue compliance from schools who attempt to racially manipulate their student bodies in violation of federal law."

U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey added, "Title VI is clear: no student should be advantaged or disadvantaged in admissions because of the color of their skin. The Supreme Court made equally clear that universities cannot evade the law by finding new ways to make race a factor in admissions decisions. Today's findings demonstrate that the Trump Administration will work to hold institutions accountable and ensure students are judged on their individual merit, not their race."

The investigation found that after the SFFA decision, Berkeley Law continued to use race, essay prompts and other tactics to advance admissions diversity goals. Investigators noted that the school's application asked applicants to specify their racial identity so that admitted students could be "grouped" with others of the same "primary identity" in class, which the departments characterized as intentionally separating admitted students by race.

Data produced by Berkeley Law revealed what investigators described as a strong bias against Asian and white applicants, paired with a corresponding bias favoring Black applicants. For 2024 and 2025 combined, half of Berkeley Law's admitted Black applicants had LSAT scores below those of 95% of admitted white applicants, and more than one-third of admitted Black applicants (37%) scored below 99% of admitted white applicants on the LSAT.

The departments' analysis further found that in 2025, Black applicants had 5.8 times higher odds of admission than comparable white applicants.

As recipients of federal financial assistance, law schools are subject to federal non-discrimination laws, the departments noted, and the government will continue to investigate compliance with Title VI as interpreted under the SFFA prohibition on race-conscious admissions. Where violations are found, the Department said it will pursue settlement negotiations to bring admissions practices into compliance, and will file suit if those efforts fail.

The findings were detailed in a formal letter released alongside the announcement, and members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov, according to the original release from the Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs.

The Berkeley Law findings come amid a broader wave of federal civil rights inquiries into higher education institutions, including recent investigations into the College of William & Mary's scholarship practices and the City University of New York's admissions and program policies.