Judge voids Harvard data order after procedural misstep by Justice Department

A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department against Harvard University, ruling that the agency failed to follow necessary procedural steps before seeking court intervention. The suit centered on the university’s alleged refusal to provide five years of admissions records for its undergraduate, medical, and law schools.

The Justice Department had demanded detailed applicant data, including grades, test scores, essays, extracurricular activities, and admissions outcomes, alongside race and ethnicity information. Officials stated the data was required to determine if Harvard continued to consider race in admissions decisions, a practice the Supreme Court barred in 2023. The Department accused the university of thwarting its investigation into potential discrimination.

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun found that the government did not adequately establish that it satisfied the prerequisites for judicial enforcement. He wrote that before taking enforcement action, an agency must advise the recipient of its failure to comply and determine that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means. Joun noted his ruling addresses a limited question regarding the agency's procedural compliance rather than the merits of the discrimination claim.

The judge clarified that the dismissal does not end the dispute over the data. He stated that the ruling does not determine whether Harvard has discriminated, whether the agencies may lawfully seek applicant-level data, or whether the university may ultimately be required to provide such information. Both Harvard and the Department of Justice declined to comment on the decision.

This dismissal represents the latest legal setback for the Trump administration in its ongoing conflict with Harvard. The administration has previously lost federal court battles concerning billions of dollars in funding cuts and a separate lawsuit accusing the university of antisemitism. Trump officials assert they are acting against alleged anti-Jewish bias on campus, while Harvard officials describe the actions as unconstitutional retaliation for refusing to adopt the administration's ideological views.

The conflict fits within a wider campaign by the administration against colleges accused of using race in admissions. In October, the Justice Department concluded that the University of California, Los Angeles, law school illegally considered race in admissions, following a similar finding against the institution's medical school. The administration has also accused UC Berkeley Law School and the medical school at the University of California, San Diego, of illegally discriminating against white and Asian applicants.

The Justice Department launched the compliance review into Harvard’s practices in 2025. The university is now positioned to defend its admissions records while the government determines its next procedural steps to obtain the requested files.