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New Hearing Set for UT Affirmative Action Case

UT pledged funding for an Austin medical school today.
KUT News
UT pledged funding for an Austin medical school today.

A new hearing in the Fisher v. University of Texas affirmative action case has been scheduled for Nov. 13.

Three judges from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will gather in Austin to hear oral arguments in the case from both sides. UT officials said the hearing will occur after both sides submit their briefs for the case, but did not say much more about the hearing.

"I do not know at this time if it will be procedural or more substantive," said UT spokesman Gary Susswein.

UT will continue to be represented by law firm Latham & Watkins, which represented the university before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the Fifth Circuit earlier this summer.

It was unknown whether Latham & Watkins would continue to represent the university once the case came back to the Fifth Circuit. Attorney General Greg Abbott's office represented UT before the Fifth Circuit in 2010.

The case has captured the eyes of higher education officials nationwide. Some say it has the potential to change college admissions. In 2008, rejected UT applicant Abigail Fisher sued the university and claimed she was denied admission because she was white. UT has rejected those claims.

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