Opinion ID: 500653
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Substantive Law and the Requirement of Intent

Text: 208 It is by now well established that in order to prove a claim of discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause a plaintiff must show not only that the state action complained of had a disproportionate or discriminatory impact but also that the defendant acted with the intent to discriminate. This principle governs claims of discrimination in housing, see Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 265, 97 S.Ct. 555-63, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977) (Arlington Heights I ), and claims of segregation in the schools, see Keyes v. School District No. 1, 413 U.S. 189, 198, 93 S.Ct. 2686, 2692, 37 L.Ed.2d 548 (1973) (Keyes ). See generally Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 239, 96 S.Ct. 2040, 2047, 48 L.Ed.2d 597 (1976). 209 In order to prevail on an equal protection claim of racial discrimination, the plaintiff need not show that the decisionmaker was motivated solely, primarily, or even predominantly by concerns that were racial: 210 [Washington v.] Davis does not require a plaintiff to prove that the challenged action rested solely on racially discriminatory purposes. Rarely can it be said that a legislature or administrative body operating under a broad mandate made a decision motivated solely by a single concern, or even that a particular purpose was the dominant or primary one. 211 Arlington Heights I, 429 U.S. at 265, 97 S.Ct. at 563 (footnote omitted). Rather, the plaintiff need begin only by showing that race was a motivating factor. Id. at 266, 97 S.Ct. at 564 (emphasis added). Once it is shown that a decision was motivated at least in part by a racially discriminatory purpose, the burden shifts to the defendant to show that the same result would have been reached even without consideration of race. Id. at 270 n. 21, 97 S.Ct. at 566 n. 21; Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287, 97 S.Ct. 568, 576, 50 L.Ed.2d 471 (1977). If the defendant comes forward with no such proof or if the trier of fact is unpersuaded that race did not contribute to the outcome of the decision, the equal protection claim is established. 212 As to a claim under the Fair Housing Act, in contrast, the consensus is that a plaintiff need prove only discriminatory effect, and need not show that the decision complained of was made with discriminatory intent. See, e.g., Robinson v. 12 Lofts Realty, Inc., 610 F.2d 1032, 1036-38 (2d Cir.1979) (collecting cases): 213 To establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination, the plaintiff need prove no more than that the conduct of the defendant actually or predictably results in racial discrimination; in other words, that it has a discriminatory effect.... The plaintiff need make no showing whatsoever that the action resulting in racial discrimination in housing was racially motivated.... Effect, and not motivation, is the touchstone, in part because clever men may easily conceal their motivations.... 214 Id. at 1037 (quoting United States v. City of Black Jack, 508 F.2d 1179, 1184-85 (8th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 422 U.S. 1042, 95 S.Ct. 2656, 45 L.Ed.2d 694 (1975)). See Arlington Heights I, 429 U.S. 252, 270-71, 97 S.Ct. 555, 556-67 (ruling that equal protection claim should have been dismissed for lack of proof of discriminatory intent, but remanding for further consideration of Fair Housing Act claim); Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. v. Village of Arlington Heights, 558 F.2d 1283, 1287-90 (7th Cir.1977) (Arlington Heights II ) (holding that Fair Housing Act claim could be established by proof of discriminatory effect, without proof of discriminatory intent), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1025, 98 S.Ct. 752, 54 L.Ed.2d 772 (1978). 215 The effect in the present case of the differing standards of proof for the constitutional claim and the Fair Housing Act claim is, as a practical matter, immaterial, for the district court found that even if proof of discriminatory intent were required for establishment of a claim under the statute, the requisite intent was proven. See 624 F.Supp. at 1293 n. 12 (In light of the strength of the evidence of intent in the case before us, it is unnecessary to reach the question whether entitlement to the broad remedial measures sought by plaintiffs here could be established under the relaxed 'effects' standard set forth in Arlington Heights II.). Since we find no basis for overturning the district court's findings of intent (see Parts B.II.A.2., B.II.B., and B.III.B. below), and since the conduct upon which the housing discrimination claim is based spans a period that commenced many years before the 1968 effective date of the Fair Housing Act, we review the statutory claims, along with the constitutional claims, in light of the proof of the City's segregative intent.