NEW YORK – June 26, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued the following statement in response to today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.:
“The Fair Housing Act is one of our country’s most significant civil rights laws – and has done much to promote equal access to housing opportunities. Today’s Supreme Court ruling preserves the critical tools we need to protect against housing discrimination across our nation as we continue fighting to achieve the goals of racial integration and equality for all our citizens.”
Attorney General Schneiderman and former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley submitted an amicus brief in the case. The brief was joined by 15 other states, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Today’s decision quoted the amicus brief which explained that “[w]ithout disparate impact claims, States and others will be left with fewer critical tools for combating the kinds of systemic discrimination that the FHA was intended to address.”
