Page "Bob Jones University" Paragraph 54

On January 8, 1982, just before the case was to be heard by the U. S. Supreme Court, President Ronald Reagan authorized his Treasury and Justice Departments to ask that the BJU case be dropped and that the previous court decisions be vacated.

Political pressure quickly brought the Reagan administration to reverse itself and to ask the Court to reinstate the case.

Then, in a virtually unprecedented move, the Court invited William T. Coleman, Jr. to argue the government's position in an amicus curiae brief, thus ensuring that the prosecution's position would be the one the Court wished to hear.

The case was heard on October 12, 1982, and on May 24, 1983, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled against Bob Jones University in Bob Jones University v. United States ( 461 U. S. 574 ).

The university refused to reverse its interracial dating policy and ( with difficulty ) paid a million dollars in back taxes.

Also, in the year following the Court decision, contributions to the university declined by 13 percent.