Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. 429 U.S. 252 (1977)
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS v. METROPOLITAN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORP. 429 U.S. 252 (1977)
This decision confirmed in another context the previous term's holding in washington v. davis (1976) that discriminatory purpose must be shown to establish race-based violations of the equal protection clause. The Supreme Court declined to strike down a village's refusal to rezone land to allow multiple-family dwellings despite the refusal's racially discriminatory adverse effects. Writing for the Court, Justice lewis f. powell elaborated on the nature of the showing that must be made to satisfy the purpose requirement announced in Washington v. Davis. A plaintiff need not prove that challenged action rested solely on racially discriminatory purposes. Instead, proof that a discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor would require the offending party to prove that it would have taken the challenged action even in the absence of a discriminatory purpose. Powell noted the types of evidence that might lead to a finding of discriminatory purpose: egregious discriminatory effects, the historical background of the governmental action, departures from normal procedure, legislative and administrative history, and, in some instances, testimony by the decision makers themselves.
Theodore Eisenberg
(1986)