Bias suit tossed out Bias suit tossed out
Judge says race not factor in rejection by UM medical school;
Lawyer plans appeal;
White applicant's attitude, abilities called into question
By David Michael Ettlin
Sun Staff August 16, 2001
The lawsuit of a disgruntled white applicant alleging racial discrimination in his rejection by the University of Maryland School of Medicine was dismissed yesterday by a federal judge in Baltimore, without his addressing constitutional issues at the heart of the plaintiff's case. Robert Farmer, 40, alleged he would have been accepted had he been an applicant from an "under-represented minority" - one of several cases around the country challenging affirmative action in school admissions and raising an issue many expect to reach the Supreme Court.
But this case won't go further if the rejection by U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg stands. Granting a summary judgment requested by the university, Legg wrote that he found no evidence to justify judicial intervention - and was dismissing as well, on technical grounds, the testimony of the two witnesses presented on behalf of Farmer.
Much of the 37-page opinion outlines procedures of the medical school's admissions committee, and the academic and personal shortcomings in Farmer's applications and recommendations that, according to the university's case, prompted a unanimous 14-0 vote against affording him an interview. The judge wrote that Hermione Hicks, director of recruitment for the medical school admissions office, had noted in presenting Farmer's 1995 application to the committee that he had not held a "significant job" as an adult and had spent "an extreme amount of time" in recreational activities.
"During discovery," the judge continued, "Hicks and other committee members testified that race played no part in the decision to reject Farmer" and "consistently stated that the decision was not a close call." Among the other reasons members noted was the "cool" letter of recommendation Farmer received from Towson University, where he had taken required science courses that had been lacking in his academic background and earned a "relatively low GPA"; less-than-average scores on the Medical College Admissions Test; "the quirky character of his personal statements"; and his "inconsistent, even flip explanations" for a minor arrest record.
"Viewing the record amassed during discovery, there is substantial evidence to support each of these concerns and no credible evidence that the committee raised them to mask discrimination," the judge wrote. He also noted concerns of the admissions committee about statements from Farmer indicating a "negative attitude towards medicine," including blaming for a "crooked bone" in his hand a doctor who had treated him, and disparaging fellow applicants.
The judge quoted this Farmer statement: "Most of the pre-med students I've seen are very good at rote memorization, but they often fall woefully short in areas of common sense, assertiveness, social concern, and knowledge of current events. ... Many of my fellow pre-med students have never really even lived on their own - I can't really be expected to compete with them strictly on the basis of grades." Farmer's lawsuit was filed in May 1998 - three years after the Supreme Court let stand an appellate court ruling barring the University of Maryland from awarding race-based scholarships.
Farmer's attorney, John W. Montgomery of Arlington, Va., said the summary judgment in favor of the university was not a surprise - and will be appealed. "When an individual is suing local powerful institutions in what is perceived as politically incorrect causes, it often happens that local judges are unreceptive to such claims," Montgomery said.
"Fortunately for me and Rob Farmer, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in almost all reverse discrimination cases in the past 10 years, and we don't expect this one to be very different."
He said Farmer - who attended Saba Medical School in the Netherland Antilles for two years - is living in South Baltimore and has held various jobs while awaiting a court order for his admission to the UM medical school, which they still expect. Dawna M. Cobb, an assistant attorney general and counsel to UM who handled its defense, said last night that she was pleased by the decision and its protection of academic freedom in deciding student admissions.
Copyright © 2001, The Baltimore Sun
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