By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
CINCINNATI, OH –
The U-S Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will reconsider a decision to strike down Michigan's ban on race- and gender-based affirmative action in university admissions.
A panel of the court ruled in July that the affirmative action ban violated equal protection rights in the U-S Constitution. The new hearing will take place before more than a dozen judges that make up the entire sixth circuit appeals court based in Cincinnati.
Michigan voters approved the amendment to the state constitution in 2006. The amendment was challenged in federal court by several civil rights groups. Oral arguments and a decision in the case are not expected before next year.