In the 1999 case of Texas, et al. v. Francois Daniel Lesage and United States, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the University of Texas (UT). The case involved a white applicant to UT's doctoral program in psychology who claimed he was denied admission due to his race, violating his Fourteenth Amendment rights. However, UT argued that even without considering race as a factor during admissions decisions for that year, Lesage would still not have been admitted due to other factors such as GPA and test scores. The court held that successful plaintiffs must prove they would have been accepted if not for their race or ethnicity under Title VI claims; simply showing racial consideration is insufficient proof of discrimination. This ruling clarified standards for proving racial discrimination in higher education admissions processes.

In the dissenting opinion for Texas, et al. v. Francois Daniel Lesage and United States, Justice Stevens argued that the case should not have been dismissed at summary judgment because there was a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether Lesage would have been admitted to the University of Texas's doctoral program in psychology absent any consideration of race. He pointed out that while it is true that a plaintiff who challenges an affirmative action program must show they were actually harmed by it (i.e., they would have received the benefit but for their race), this does not mean such plaintiffs are barred from bringing suit if they cannot prove this harm with certainty at summary judgment stage. Instead, he contended these are factual issues best resolved through trial rather than on motion for summary judgment.