A federal judge ruled Monday that the University of Georgia's use of race as a factor in admissions is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge B. Avant Edenfield wrote in his opinion that Georgia's goal of promoting diversity is an "amorphous, unquantifiable, and temporarily unlimited goal," and it is not important enough to justify affirmative action.
The judge ruled for three white women who sued after being denied admission in 1999. They claimed they would have been admitted if they were male or from a minority group.
Edenfield ordered Georgia to offer the three plaintiffs admission and pay the difference between their college expenses from last year and what they would have paid at Georgia, totaling $9,246.11.
Georgia admitted about 85 percent of its freshman class on academic qualifications alone, and then uses other factors to weigh borderline applicants for the remaining 15 percent of the class. Those factors include race, if the student is a legacy and if he or she is a resident of Georgia.
Georgia considered gender in 1999, but dropped that criterion in 2000.
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Georgia officials said they have not decided if they will appeal the decision.
"This is yet another step in what promises to be a long process," Georgia president Michael F. Adams said in a statement.
If Georgia appeals, the ruling would affect institutions throughout the 11th Circuit, which includes Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
The University considers race as a factor in admissions. Rector John P. Ackerly III said the University has "thought for some time," that the University's admissions policy is defendable in court.
Ackerly said he does not know of any pending litigation against the University that threatens its admissions policy.
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