"Supreme Court upholds key tool for fighting housing bias"

"The justices ruled 5-4 that federal housing laws prohibit seemingly neutral practices that harm minorities, even without proof of intentional discrimination...
Writing for the majority, Kennedy said language in the housing law banning discrimination “because of race” allows for disparate impact cases. He said such lawsuits “may prevent segregated housing patterns that might otherwise result from covert and illicit stereotyping.”

“The court acknowledges the Fair Housing Act’s continuing role in moving the nation toward a more integrated society,” Kennedy said...

The case involved an appeal from Texas officials accused of violating the Fair Housing Act by awarding federal tax credits in a way that kept low-income housing out of white neighborhoods."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-upholds-key-tool-for-fighting-housing-bias/2015/06/25/4fe4e770-1b44-11e5-bed8-1093ee58dad0_story.html?hpid=z2