Federal judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit seeking Harvard admissions data
A judge in Boston ruled the Justice Department skipped legally required steps, but said the decision does not settle whether Harvard must eventually hand over applicant data.
A federal judge in Boston on Monday dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit seeking admissions data from Harvard University, according to The New Republic.
U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun ruled that the Department of Justice did not follow all of the legally required steps to get a court order forcing the university to comply with its demands, the outlet reported.
In its lawsuit, the administration claimed Harvard was not cooperating with a government review of its admissions policies. It said the university "slow-walked the pace of production" of relevant documents and refused to hand over others, including application essays, according to The New Republic.
Harvard said the Justice Department's demands were excessive. The university called the lawsuit "part of the Trump administration's ongoing campaign against Harvard" and said its admissions process fully complied with federal law, the outlet reported.
The ruling matters because it is the second time a Trump administration lawsuit against Harvard has been thrown out. According to The New Republic, a separate lawsuit accusing the university of allowing a "hostile educational environment" for Jewish and Israeli students was dismissed in August.
The case is part of a wider dispute between the administration and the university. The New Republic reported that President Trump demanded $1 billion from Harvard earlier this year after it refused to sign his "compact" on education policy and send millions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury. The outlet described Harvard as the highest-profile university the administration has targeted.
The judge made clear that his decision was narrow and turned on procedure. He did not rule on the substance of the government's claims.
“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.”Myong J. Joun, U.S. District Judge
That leaves several questions open. The New Republic's report does not say whether the Justice Department plans to appeal, refile the case after taking the steps the judge said were missing, or seek the data another way. It also does not include a response from the White House or the Justice Department to the ruling.
The report does not say what specific steps the judge found the department had skipped, or how long any renewed effort might take.
This story rests on a single report from The New Republic, which described the lawsuit as "extreme" in its headline. Other outlets' accounts of the ruling were not reviewed for this piece.
