The case of Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation et al., 1999 revolved around the issue of affirmative action in government contracting. Adarand Constructors, a Colorado-based company that is predominantly white-owned and operated, challenged federal laws which provided financial incentives to primary contractors who hired subcontractors controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (including racial minorities). The Supreme Court had previously ruled in favor of such programs if they were narrowly tailored to rectify past discrimination. However, this time the court remanded the case back to lower courts for further review under strict scrutiny standards - meaning that any race-conscious program must serve a compelling governmental interest and be narrowly tailored to achieve that end. This decision marked an important shift towards more stringent judicial oversight over affirmative action policies.

In the dissenting opinion for Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation et al., Justice Stevens argued that the majority's decision to remand the case was unnecessary and premature. He believed that there was no need to question whether or not race-based presumptions were constitutional because they had already been upheld in previous cases by both Congress and this Court. Furthermore, he contended that these presumptions were necessary tools for addressing racial discrimination in federal contracting practices - a problem which he felt still existed despite progress made towards equality since past civil rights legislation. In his view, such measures did not violate equal protection principles but rather helped ensure them by promoting diversity and preventing further discrimination against minority-owned businesses.