Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against Harvard over federal demand for
admissions data
[November 03, 2026]
By MICHAEL CASEY
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit against
Harvard University over its alleged failure to provide admissions
records that the Justice Department had demanded to ensure the Ivy
League school stopped using affirmative action in admissions.
The Justice Department said Harvard had “thwarted” efforts to
investigate potential discrimination. It accused Harvard of refusing to
comply with a federal investigation and asked a judge to order the
university to turn over the records.
But U.S. District Judge Myong Joun concluded that the Justice Department
didn't take the necessary procedural steps to obtain the data before
filing the lawsuit. “Before taking enforcement action under the
statutory framework, the agency must advise the recipient of its failure
to comply and determine that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary
means,” Joun wrote.
But Joun also said the ruling does not end the dispute over the data.
“I decide a limited question: whether the Government has adequately
established, at this stage and on the materials properly considered,
that it satisfied the prerequisites to judicial enforcement invoked in
this complaint,” he wrote. “The ruling does not determine whether
Harvard has discriminated, whether the agencies may lawfully seek
appropriately defined applicant-level data, or whether Harvard may
ultimately be required to provide such data.”
Neither Harvard nor the Department of Justice responded to a request for
comment.
The ruling is the latest setback against the Trump administration over
its ongoing battle with Harvard. It has suffered defeats in the federal
courts over everything from billions of dollars in funding cuts to a
lawsuit accusing the university of antisemitism.
Trump officials have said they’re taking action against Harvard over
allegations of anti-Jewish bias on campus. Harvard officials say they’re
facing unconstitutional retaliation for refusing to adopt the
administration’s ideological views.
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Students walk through Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard
University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Charles
Krupa, File
In the fight over admissions data, the Justice Department in 2025
launched a compliance review into Harvard’s admissions practices. It
told Harvard to hand over five years of admissions data for
applicants to its undergraduate, medial and law schools.
It also asked Harvard for applicants’ grades, test scores, essays,
extracurricular activities and admissions outcomes, along with their
race and ethnicity.
Justice Department officials said they need the data to determine
whether Harvard has continued considering applicants’ race in
admissions decisions. The Supreme Court barred affirmative action in
admissions in 2023 after lawsuits challenged it at Harvard and the
University of North Carolina.
The effort against Harvard is part of a broader campaign by the
Trump administration against colleges accused of considering race in
admissions decisions.
In October, the Justice Department found the law school at the
University of California, Los Angeles, illegally considered race in
admissions. The announcement follows a similar finding against the
university’s medical school.
The administration also has accused the UC Berkeley Law School and
the medical school at the University of California, San Diego, of
illegally discriminating against white and Asian applicants.
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