Late last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities can no longer consider race in admissions, a decision that overturns dozens of years of legal precedent.  

Stephen Montoya is a Phoenix-based personal injury attorney who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He reacted to the decision on PBS’ “Arizona Horizon.”

“A very radical conclusion the court reached is that ‘affirmative action’ violates the Equal Protection Clause. I say that’s very radical because the Equal Protection Clause has been with us since 1968. It was enacted immediately after the Civil War soon after the ratification of the 13th Amendment,” he said.

That amendment abolished slavery.

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 Montoya referenced "expanded on previous acts and prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, (and as amended) handicap and family status," according to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.

The Supreme Court “had twice upheld race-conscious college admissions programs in the past 20 years, including as recently as 2016,” according to the Associated Press, but the make up of the court has changed since then.