Race Preference Programs and the United States Supreme Court’s Strict Scrutiny Standard of Review

Description

This study offers a legally and methodologically acceptable approach that governments can use to generate factual predicate for establishing compelling state interest in adopting race preference programs in government contracting under the United States Supreme Courts strict scrutiny standard of review. Race preference programs are critical for increasing opportunities among minority firms to do business with government. These programs have come under judicial attack in recent years at both the state and federal government levels because they do not serve a compelling state interest to correct discrimination in the government contracting process. The courts rejected these programs as premised on evidence that do not offer a legally and methodologically acceptable probative explanation of the extent to which discrimination influence contract award to minority firms under the United States Supreme Courts strict scrutiny standard. Using the City of St. Petersburg as the research setting, this study combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to determine probative explanation of the extent to which discrimination influence contract awards to minority-owned firms within the framework of the Supreme Court strict scrutiny standard. These approaches can be relied upon by any government entity to ascertain if race preference and/or race neutral remedial policies are warranted.