U.S. v. Virginia

3 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CASE

• What is the Constitutional issue in this case?
• Why did the first solution not work?
• Why was this a landmark case?

CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE

• 14th amendment equal protection clause was violated
• Virginia Military Institute had an only male policy

PARTIES INVOLVED

• Petitioner: United States
• Respondent: Virginia

TIME AND PLACE

• Argued: January 17, 1996
• Decided: June 26, 1996
• Virginia Military Institute

EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE CASE

• US sued Virginia
• District court ruled in Virginia's favor
• Ruling was reversed
• Virginia created Virginia Women's institute for leadership (VWIL)
• It was reviewed again and determined that VWIL was not as prestigious as VMI

RULING ON THE CASE

• 7-1 for the United States
• William Rehnquist as chief justice
• Majority opinion by Ruth Ginsburg

REASON FOR THAT RULING

• VWIL would not provide women with the same opportunities as VMI provides its men
• The notion that admitting women would downgrade VMI’s stature and destroy the school’s system was hardly proved.

DO I AGREE WITH THE RULING?

Untitled Slide

• Oyes.org
• Wikipedia
• Law.cornell.edu
• Casebriefs.com