On December 6, 2024, U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett, following a bench trial in Students for Fair Admissions v. U.S. Naval Academy, No. 1:23-cv-02699 (D. Md. 2023), ruled against Students for Fair Admissions that had challenged on equal protection grounds the U.S. Naval Academy’s race and ethnicity-conscious selection program designed to overcome the obvious racial imbalance in the U.S. Navy.