Final answer:
The court's decision in the Bakke case was a complicated split decision. It ruled that racial quotas were illegal but supported affirmative action plans. Race could be considered as a factor in college admissions, as long as there were no rigid quotas.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the case of Bakke v. University of California, the court's decision was a complicated split decision. The court ruled that the use of racial quotas in admissions was illegal, as it violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but it also supported the continuation of affirmative action plans. The decision stated that race could be considered as one of many factors in college admissions, as long as there were no rigid quotas or fixed numbers of places reserved for minority candidates.