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Trial on using race-based admissions in the Naval Academy kicks off in crusade against affirmative action

Chief Justice John Roberts said factoring race into admissions had "potentially distinct" interests for service academies. 

The U.S. Navy on Monday will begin to defend its use of race as an admissions factor at the Naval Academy after a Supreme Court case overturning affirmative action left a carve out for service academies.

Midshipmen render a salute during the commissioning and graduation ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 24, 2024.

The Naval Academy asks applicants to identify their race, ethnicity and cultural heritage in its online application but says it only considers those factors in limited circumstances.

"Most candidates are unaffected by the consideration of race," lawyers for the Naval Academy wrote in court filings.

Chief Justice John Roberts said factoring race into admissions had "potentially distinct" interests for service academies. ((AP Photo/Will Newton))

"One does not need to conduct a statistical analysis to see the obvious," the lawyers wrote. "Despite the Naval Academy’s substantial efforts to increase the number of minority students over time ... the number of minority students in every class, and in particular Black American and Hispanic students, falls far short of reflecting the nation’s racial and ethnic demographics."

The attorneys argue that "unlike civilian universities, USNA prepares students for war."

Students for Fair Admissions claims the academy "manipulates admissions outcomes" to mirror the makeup of the U.S. population, which unfairly disadvantages White and Asian students. 

"The Academy has no justification for using race-based admissions," the group’s lawyers wrote in court filings. "Those admissions are unconstitutional for all other public institutions of higher education."

In December, Bennett denied a bid to temporarily bar the Naval Academy from considering race while the lawsuit awaited trial.