United States v. Virginia

United States Supreme Court

518 U.S. 515 (1996)

Relevant factsFree

The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) was the only single-sex public college in Virginia, training students for military and civilian leadership through a rigorous "adversative" method, and it refused to admit women. After a court ruled the all-male policy violated equal protection, Virginia created the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL) as an alternative for women, but VWIL differed substantially from VMI in academics, teaching methods, and resources.

IssueFree

Whether VMI's policy of excluding women from admission denies women equal protection of the laws, and, if so, whether creating a separate women's leadership program is an adequate remedy.

Holding & reasoning

The court resolved the question by applying the controlling rule to the facts and explaining precisely why the outcome followed. Its reasoning ties the doctrine to the record so you can reproduce the analysis on an exam.

Procedural history, concurrence & dissent

This section traces the case from the trial court through appeal and lays out how each opinion lands. Separate writings sharpen the majority's limits and flag the arguments most likely to resurface in class.

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