The U.S. Supreme Court case Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation et al., 2001 revolved around the issue of affirmative action in government contracting and whether it violated equal protection principles under the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. Adarand Constructors, a Colorado-based company that was primarily white-owned, challenged federal policies giving preference to minority-owned businesses for subcontracting opportunities on federally funded projects as discriminatory against non-minority contractors like themselves. The court had previously ruled in favor of Adarand but remanded the case back to lower courts for further review based on stricter standards for racial classifications (strict scrutiny). In this instance however, due to changes in Department of Transportation regulations since their last ruling and lack of final agency action applying these new rules to Adarand specifically at that time - which would have provided concrete context for judicial review - the Supreme Court dismissed the case as improvidently granted.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation et al., 2001 was not focused on the merits or demerits of affirmative action but rather on procedural issues related to the case's history and its presentation before the Supreme Court for a third time. The dissenting justices argued that it was inappropriate for the court to make a decision without first allowing lower courts to review changes made by Congress and relevant federal agencies following previous rulings in this ongoing litigation process. They expressed concern over potential judicial overreach and emphasized respect for separation of powers principles as well as due deference towards legislative actions aimed at remedying past racial discrimination within public contracting sectors.