Federal Judge Tosses DOJ Lawsuit Demanding Harvard Admissions Data

A federal judge on Monday dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit that sought to force Harvard University to turn over detailed records showing whether its admissions policies are race-based.

U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun in Boston rejected the Department of Justice’s case after finding the government had not completed the legally required steps to secure voluntary compliance before suing. The decision rested on those narrow procedural grounds and did not resolve whether Harvard must ultimately provide the data.

The ruling leaves open the possibility that the Justice and Education departments could still seek applicant-level information if they correct the procedural deficiencies. The case was dismissed without prejudice.

“A deadline and a threat to sue, standing alone, do not necessarily demonstrate compliance with the regulatory voluntary-compliance process where the agency seeks to enforce disputed demands for extensive information,” Joun wrote.

The Justice Department had sought years of applicant-level data to test whether Harvard continues to consider race after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision ending race-based admissions. Harvard contends the suit forms part of a broader campaign by the administration against the Ivy League school.

The Justice Department sued Harvard on Feb. 12, accusing the university of withholding admissions data needed to check whether it is still engaging in discriminatory practices.

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Officials noted the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that race-based affirmative action programs in most college admissions violate the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. They said Harvard had “slow-walked the pace of production” or refused to turn over data and documents on admissions policies and related information. Those records, the department argued, were required to determine compliance with the high court’s decision.

“Harvard made its most recent production of admissions-related documents in May 2025,” the complaint stated. “The repeatedly extended deadlines for document production have long passed.”

The suit sought to compel production of materials tied to any race-based admissions programs. It also claimed the university’s failure to hand over the documents violated terms of its agreement with the government for receiving federal financial assistance.

“Providing requested data is a basic expectation of any credible compliance process, and refusal to cooperate creates concerns about university practices,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a Feb. 13 statement announcing the lawsuit. “If Harvard has stopped discriminating, it should happily share the data necessary to prove it.”

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Students for Fair Admissions, which had sued Harvard for denying Asian applicants because that group was overrepresented in the undergraduate student body, violating civil rights laws.