A year-long probe into UCLA’s medical school uncovered illegal race-based admissions practices, the federal Department of Justice announced Wednesday. “ UCLA’s admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence — allowing racial politics to distract the school from the vital work of training great doctors,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. Attorney Harmeet Dhillon MediaNews Group via Getty Images The department said it has evidence the David Geffen School of Medicine intentionally selected applicants based on their race. School documents obtained by the department claim that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, the feds said. On average, admitted black and Hispanic applicants had consistently lower academic qualifications than their white and Asian counterparts, the DOJ said.…