Washington, DC – On news today that the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami, Constitutional Accountability Center – which filed a brief in the case in support of the City of Miami – issued the following reaction: 

“This an important ruling that reaffirms the promise of access to the courts to remedy housing discrimination that all too often plagues our cities,” said CAC Civil Rights Director David Gans. “The Court reaffirms that cities can play an important role in enforcing the Fair Housing Act’s promise of equality by holding corporations to account for policies that perpetuate racial segregation.”

“In arriving at its decision, the Court today properly respected its own precedents, as well as Congress’s ratification of those precedents,” added CAC Chief Counsel Brianne Gorod. “While the most significant aspect of today’s decision was its recognition of the role that cities can play in enforcing the Fair Housing Act, perhaps the most unexpected aspect was the vote of Chief Justice John Roberts. While he clearly remains a conservative Justice, today’s ruling is yet another reminder that he is a conservative who occasionally surprises.”

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Resources:

CAC “friend of the court” brief in Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami and Wells Fargo & Co. v. City of Miami: http://theusconstitution.org/cases/bank-america-corp-v-city-miami-and-wells-fargo-co-v-city-miami-us-sup-ct

CAC Issue Brief series on the first ten Terms of Chief Justice John Roberts, Roberts at 10: http://theusconstitution.org/think-tank/issue-brief/roberts-10 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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