Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. (576 U.S. 519)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 25, 2015 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 576 U.S. 519 · 135 S. Ct. 2507
- Decided
- June 25, 2015
- Term
- October Term 2014
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice KENNEDYdelivered the opinion of the Court. The underlying dispute in this case concerns where housing for low-income persons should be constructed in Dallas, Texas-that is, whether the housing should be built in the inner city or in the suburbs. This dispute comes to the Court on a disparate-impact theory of liability. In contrast to a disparate-treatment case, where a "plaintiff must establish that the defendant had a discriminatory intent or motive," a plaintiff bringing a disparate-impact claim challenges practices that have a "disproportionately adverse effect on minorities" and are otherwise unjustified by a legitimate rationale. Ricci v. DeStefano,557 U.S. 557, 577, 129 S.Ct. 2658, 174 L.Ed.2d 490 (2009)(internal quotation marks omitted). The question presented for the Court's determination is whether disparate-impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act (or FHA), 82 Stat. 81, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq. I A Before turning to the question presented, it is necessary to discuss a different federal statute that gives rise to this dispute. The Federal Government provides low-income housing tax credits that are distributed to developers through designated state agencies. 26 U.S.C. § 42. Congress has directed States to develop plans identifying selection criteria for distributing the credits. § 42(m)(1). Those plans must include certain criteria,…
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