Supreme Court Backs 'Disparate Impact' Claims

On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that claims of racial discrimination in housing cases shouldn’t be limited by questions of intent. The court affirmed a Court of Appeals decision in a case in which a nonprofit group sued the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for contributing to “segregated housing patterns” by allocating a disproportionate amount of the state’s Housing Credits to developments in predominantly black inner-city areas.