Judge tosses DOJ’s suit against Harvard over race-related admissions data

The government sought that data as part of an investigation into whether Harvard has engaged in discrimination by considering race in its student admissions process.(CN) — A federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit against Harvard University on Monday, icing an effort to compel the Ivy League college to turn race-related admissions records over to the government.The Department of Justice filed the suit in February after it claimed Harvard failed to cooperate with a probe into whether it considers race in its student admissions process — running afoul of the administration’s stance on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.But in a 10-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun found the government was too quick to sue. The Joe Biden appointee in the District of Massachusetts sided with Harvard in ruling the DOJ filed suit without first taking steps to secure the school’s voluntary compliance with its demands for admissions data.“The government … has not supplied a sufficient basis for the judicial relief currently sought,” the judge ruled.Joun’s findings only address the limited question of whether the DOJ — and the Department of Education — can currently ask the court to compel Harvard into turning over the data the agencies seek.“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,” he clarified.He dismissed the complaint without prejudice, opening the door for the government to sue again if it can truly prove Harvard will not comply voluntarily with its demands. Then and only then, Joun said, can it ask for the court’s intervention.Harvard, the DOJ and the DOE didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.In its initial lawsuit filed Feb. 13, the government claimed Harvard “is not complying with a federal investigation” into whether its admissions process is discriminatory. The DOJ claims it is part of a broader probe into the school’s compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs that get federal financial assistance.“Harvard has failed to disclose the data we need to ensure that its admissions are free of discrimination — we will continue fighting to put merit over DEI across America,” then-Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a February statement announcing the suit.But Harvard claimed this was just another attempt from the government to strong-arm the school into being friendlier to the Trump administration. Harvard argued it was responsive to the DOJ’s demands but was sued nonetheless because of its refusal to cede to the administration on issues like antisemitism.The college filed its motion to dismiss on June 4, claiming it has endured a “government-initiated onslaught” since President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House.“President Trump has publicly expressed his beliefs that ‘Harvard has lost its way,’ that it ‘has been hiring almost all woke, radical left, idiots and birdbrains’ and that ‘Harvard is a JOKE.’ The rest of the executive branch has followed the president’s lead,” Harvard claims in the filing.Harvard has indeed been embroiled in litigation with the Trump administration since early 2025, but federal courts have largely sided with the school.In September 2025, a federal judge found the administration’s $2.6 billion cuts to Harvard’s research funding unlawfully retaliatory. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, a Barack Obama appointee in Massachusetts, called the funding freeze an “ideologically motivated assault” on one of the nation’s top colleges and concluded the administration was doing the same to other prestigious institutions around the country.Earlier this year, a judge shot down another complaint the DOJ brought against Harvard. In that suit, the government accused the school of “tolerat[ing] antisemitic mobs of students, faculty and visitors” during pro-Palestine demonstrations. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns, a Bill Clinton appointee in Massachusetts, found the government fell short of proving systemic antisemitism on Harvard’s campus.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads