Half Of Judges Who Could Hear Appeal Of Harvard Discrimination Case Went To School There

Half of the federal judges who could possibly hear the appeal of the Harvard admissions case attended the school as undergraduates or law students, a WGBH News review of their official biographies has found.

Three of the 10 judges on Boston's First Circuit Court of Appeals will be selected at random to hear the appeal of Federal District Judge Allison Burroughs’ Tuesday decision in favor of Harvard. Students for Fair Admissions, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of rejected Asian-American applicants to Harvard, has said it will appeal the ruling upholding the university’s consideration of race in admitting students.

Read more: Judge Rules Harvard Does Not Discriminate Against Asian-Americans

Five judges on the appellate court graduated from Harvard or its law school, WGBH News found.

Michael Boudin, Bruce M. Selya and David J. Barron graduated from both Harvard and its law school. Norman H. Stahl and William J. Kayatta Jr. earned law degrees there.

Boudin taught law courses at Harvard in the 1980s and 1990s. Barron was a professor at Harvard Law until being confirmed as federal judge in 2014, and this school year returned as a visiting professor, according to the law school’s website.

It’s up to federal judges to decide whether to recuse themselves from a case. Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University and WGBH News legal analyst, said having attended the college that is being sued is probably not enough of a reason for a judge to step aside if selected to hear the case.

“I don’t think attending Harvard poses a conflict. ... It is possible that he could decide to recuse himself or be challenged by the plaintiffs,” Medwed said in an email.

Under federal court procedures, Students for Fair Admissions has 14 days to file a routine “notice of appeal” with the appellate court. Afterwards, the parties are expected to spend months filing briefs and responding to each other’s filings. Once the case is scheduled for a hearing, the two sides present oral arguments to a three-judge panel that has yet to be chosen.

Medwed said the “best case scenario” is a decision on the appeal late next year. Students for Fair Admissions has vowed to pursue the case to the Supreme Court if necessary.