CIR defends California's Prop. 209 — again

Today CIR filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the case of BAMN v. Brown, in which the same organization that is challenging Michigan’s Prop. 2 is seeking to have California’s Prop. 209 declared unconstitutional.  Ward Connerly had championed both successful ballot initiatives, which ban those respective state governments from giving preferential treatment based on race.  In 1997, CIR successfully defended Prop. 209, and its constitutionality was affirmed by the California Supreme Court in 2000.

In its brief CIR makes a unique argument: since only the U.S. Supreme Court, and no lower federal court, has the power to reverse the California Supreme Court’s ruling that Prop. 209 is constitutional, the plaintiff can achieve nothing by a Ninth Circuit ruling in its favor.  Accordingly, BAMN lacks standing to bring its challenge in federal court, and its case should be dismissed.