YET ANOTHER federal appeals court has issued an opinion on whether a state university may use race in admitting students. This time the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit–which handles cases from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee–has approved race-based admissions at the Michigan Law School.

The Sixth Circuit is the fourth appeals court to rule on the question, following the 5th, 9th, and 11th. It is an understatement to say, as lawyers would here, that “there is a conflict in the circuits.”