Do government lawyers know the contents of the U.S. Constitution they are sworn to uphold?

"“Our job is to be a law enforcement arm that protects the laws as Congress and the Supreme Court has written them,” said John Gore, the head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division."

Maybe I am missing something, but the Supreme Court, by the U.S. Constitution, MAY NOT make laws. An attorney from the civil rights division of The U.S. Justice Department should certainly know at least this much about the constitutional separation of powers. 

Of course, the lawyers' licenses are also controlled by courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, so they are between the lion and the deep sea - and, they bow to the lion, even if the lion is not in the right.

Yet, another aspect of it is the sides the author of the article is taking. The Justice Department took the side of one minority (Asian Americans) against another minority (African Americans) in college admissions. Asian Americans - who are usually stereotyped as smart overachievers - were deemed "white" for purposes of affirmative action-type college admissions. And, all they asserted was that - actually, they are not white, and that college admissions must be based on merit, not on skin color. I understand that, were Asian Americans considered not "white", but also a minority entitled to affirmative action, there would not have been an issue.

It is a very messy subject - affirmative action. But, making admissions color-blind at this time may hurt some minorities who attended low-quality public schools. But, is it reason enough to discriminate against deserving students?

It is going to court, I am sure. Probably, the only place where such controversies can be decided. Hopefully, fairly.