Judge halts Harvard data fight, citing missing procedural steps
A federal court dismissed the Justice Department's suit, ruling the agency skipped required notices before demanding five years of admissions records.
By Bianca Herrera ·
Harvard University officials no longer face a federal court order forcing them to release specific applicant data to the Justice Department. A federal judge dismissed the government's lawsuit on Monday, determining that the agency failed to follow proper procedure before seeking enforcement.
The Justice Department had sued Harvard for withholding records requested during a compliance review. The review began in 2025, targeting the university's undergraduate, medical, and law school admissions processes. Officials sought five years of data, including grades, test scores, essays, extracurricular activities, admissions outcomes, and the race and ethnicity of applicants.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun wrote that the agency must first advise the recipient of its failure to comply and determine that voluntary compliance is impossible before taking enforcement action. The judge stated that the government did not establish it had met these prerequisites on the materials considered.
The ruling does not end the underlying dispute. Judge Joun clarified that the decision does not determine whether Harvard has discriminated or whether the agencies may lawfully seek applicant-level data. The judge noted that the ruling only addresses whether the government adequately established the prerequisites for judicial enforcement at this stage.
The Justice Department accused Harvard of thwarting efforts to investigate potential discrimination. The agency claimed the university refused to comply with the federal investigation. The suit was one of several legal battles between the Trump administration and the Ivy League institution. Previous court defeats included challenges to billions of dollars in funding cuts and a lawsuit accusing the university of antisemitism.
Harvard and the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment. The administration argues it is acting against Harvard due to allegations of anti-Jewish bias on campus. Harvard officials contend the university is facing unconstitutional retaliation for refusing to adopt the administration's ideological views.
The fight over admissions data follows a 2023 Supreme Court decision that barred affirmative action in admissions. The Trump administration has expanded its campaign against colleges accused of considering race. In October, the Justice Department found that the University of California, Los Angeles, law school illegally considered race in admissions, following a similar finding against its medical school. The administration has also accused UC Berkeley Law and the University of California, San Diego, medical school of discriminating against white and Asian applicants.
