Elite College Admissions Cases Put Justices on Collision Course

A showdown over college affirmative action at the US Supreme Court next week pits the court’s liberal wing against Chief Justice John Roberts and his dream of a constitutional ban on racial preferences.

Ketanji Brown Jackson and John Roberts.

Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The court will hear arguments Monday on admissions policies at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina in cases that could mean fewer Black and Hispanic students at selective universities. The schools are battling an interest group that seeks to overturn decades-old precedents letting colleges consider race in choosing students.

Proponents say the practices help create a diverse campus, benefiting students of all races, while ...