A major victory was won by civil rights groups by the recent decision made by the US Supreme Court. According to a report from washingtonpost.com, the high court upheld that a tool used to fight housing discrimination was constitutional.
In a narrow 5 to 4 decision, whose ponente was Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court upheld that the 1968 Fair Housing Act prevents the application of intentional discrimination in the housing market. Aside from avoiding such injustice, the law also eliminates race neutral policies that have the consequence of harming minorities and other groups, even without evidence of bias being applied in these policies.
Justice Kennedy wrote, "The Court acknowledges that the Fair Housing Act's continuing role in moving the Nation toward a more integrated society."
The effect of the decision, according to news.yahoo.com, is that the broad interpretation of the law allows individuals to bring lawsuits that have discriminatory effect even without any proof of intent.
The decision also provides a legal foundation for the thrust of the Obama administration on the matter, which have been supporting lawsuits along those discriminatory lines.
Four liberals, namely Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Stephen Breyer by Justice Kennedy, a conservative, in making the landmark decision. The decision further read, "Much progress remains to be made in our nation's continuing struggle against racial isolation."
In reacting to the High Court's pronouncement, US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch said, "By recognizing that laws, policies and practices with unjustified discriminatory effects are inconsistent with the Fair Housing Act, today's decision lends support to hard-working Americans who are attempting to find good housing opportunities for themselves and their families."
There were dissenting opinions as to the case, as reported by cnn.com, one of them from Justice Clarence Thomas, who warned that the decision and the Court is constructing 'a scheme that parcels out legal privileges to individuals on the basis of skin color."
