Judge dismisses DOJ suit for Harvard admissions data on procedural grounds

Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun on November 2, 2026, dismissed without prejudice a Justice Department lawsuit filed in February that sought Harvard admissions records from hundreds of thousands of applications, including student essays. The government said the data were needed to check compliance with the Supreme Court's 2023 decision restricting race-conscious admissions under Title VI. Joun found the DOJ had not taken required steps to secure voluntary compliance before seeking court intervention. "For these reasons, Harvard's motion to dismiss is granted without prejudice," Joun wrote, adding the government may cure the procedural deficiency but had not supplied a sufficient basis for relief. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in February that Harvard failed to disclose data needed to ensure admissions free of discrimination and that officials would continue fighting to put merit over DEI. Harvard's court filings called the suit part of the Trump administration's ongoing campaign against Harvard and said the school had cooperated while objecting to the requests' scope. The Justice and Education departments pursued the data; Harvard was a defendant in the original Supreme Court case. Joun wrote the ruling does not determine whether Harvard has discriminated, whether agencies may lawfully seek applicant-level data, or whether Harvard must ultimately provide such data.