Promoting 'Inclusive Communities': A Modified Approach to Disparate Impact Under the Fair Housing Act

• Author: Cornelius J. Murray IV
• Pages: 212-258

Louisiana Law Review

















 



 





Promoting “Inclusive Communities”: A Modified

Approach to Disparate Impact Under the Fair

Housing Act

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ..........................................................................214

I. Disparate Impact Theory: What it is and Where it

Came From ...........................................................................219

A. Disparate Treatment .......................................................220

B. Disparate Impact ............................................................221

C. The Origins of Disparate Impact in

Employment Law ...........................................................222

1. Early Inklings of Disparate Impact ..........................222

2. Supreme Court Approval of Disparate Impact ........224

D. The Development of Disparate Impact in the

Fair Housing Context .....................................................226

II. Disparate Impact Toda y: A Proposal to Resolve the

Theory’s Uncertain Future Under the FHA .........................227

A. The Current State of Disparate Impact Under

the FHA ..........................................................................228

1. A Sign of Things to Come: Ricci v. DeStefano .......228

2. An Opportunity Lost: Magner v. Gallagher ............229

3. A Repeat Performance: Mount Holly v.

Mount Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc. .........230

4. Round Three, the Potential Knockout Blow:

Texas Department of Housing and Community

Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. ........232

B. A Call to Amend the FHA .............................................236

III. Dissecting Disparate Impact Under the FHA: The

Standard Debate ...................................................................239

A. Examining the Current Standards Employed by

the Circuit Courts: Pros and Cons ..................................240

1. The Burden-Shifting Approach ................................241

2. The Relevance of Intent ............................................244

3. The Balancing Test ..................................................245

4. The Hybrid Approach ..............................................247

214 LOUISIANA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 75

B. Proposing a Proper Standard: The Modified

Burden-Shifting Approach .............................................249

C. Codification: Incorporation of the Modified

Burden-Shifting Approach Into an FHA Amendment ...254

Conclusion ............................................................................255

Appendix A ..........................................................................257

INTRODUCTION

In New Orleans, a cursory examination of the city’s

neighborhoods and surrounding areas tells the story. Lime green

dots shade almost the entirety of Central City, Algiers, Gentilly,

New Orleans East, and the Lower Ninth Ward.1 Conversely, blue

dots predominate in Uptown, Algiers Point, Lakeview, Metairie,

the Garden District, and the French Quarter.2 In Detroit, 8 Mile

Road forms the line of demarcation, blue dots blanketing north of

the road and green dots covering the south.3 Atlanta, Birmingham,

Chicago, and St. Louis present similar pictures.4 The colored dots

reflect data from the 2010 Census: one dot for every individual;

green represents blacks, and blue represents whites.5 The images

described come from “the most comprehensive map of race in

America ever created.”6 The map—particularly the close-ups of

individual cities—shows conclusively that racial segregation

continues to plague this country’s residential communities.7

Although a few cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Los

Angeles have more integrated neighborhoods, racial segregation

proves to be the norm.8

Copyright 2014, by CORNELIUS J. MURRAY IV.

1. Dustin A. Cable, The Racial Dot Map, WELDON COOPER CTR. FOR PUB.

SERV., UNIV. OF VA., http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/index.html,

archived at http://perma.cc/7MEA-7WUH.

2. Id.

3. Id.

4. Id.

5. Id. Further, red represents Asians, orange represents Hispanics, and

brown represents all others. Id.

6. Kyle Vanhemert, The Best Map Ever Made of America’s Racial

Segregation, WIRED (Aug. 26, 2013, 6:30 AM), http://www.wired.com/de sign

/2013/08/how-segregated -is-your-city-this-e ye-opening-map-shows-yo u/?viewall

=true, archived at http://perma.cc/X6XX-CWG3 (pre senting the work of Dustin

Cable, a statistician at the University of Virginia).

7. See Cable, supra note 1.

8. Id.