Thomas
v. Anchorage Equal Rights Comm'n
Community Rights Counsel
played a pivotal role in assisting the City of Anchorage,
Alaska in obtaining reconsideration of a court ruling on property
rights that threatens a broad array of environmental and civil
rights protections.
The Case
In Thomas v. Anchorage Equal Rights Comm'n
(click here
for full text of the case), two landlords challenged laws
of the City of Anchorage and State of Alaska that prohibit
discrimination by commercial landlords against unmarried couples.
The landlords claimed that laws requiring them to rent to
unmarried couples violate their religious liberty. On January
14, 1999, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit -- the federal
appellate court that covers Alaska, California, and seven
other western states -- struck down the laws as applied to
the plaintiffs and similarly situated landlords. In so ruling,
the panel ignored decisions by the Supreme Courts of Alaska,
California, and Michigan upholding such protections. The panel
bolstered the landlords' otherwise meritless religious liberty
claim by concluding that the fair housing laws also raise
property rights and free speech issues.
A Property Rights Barrier to Civil Rights
Protections?
The court's ruling that the landlords were "likely to
succeed" on their property rights claim is remarkable
because it directly contravenes a landmark U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that upheld our nation's basic civil rights laws against
a similar challenge by a white motel operator who refused
to serve African-Americans. As a result, the Thomas
ruling called into question a host of fair housing and civil
rights protections and could be used to justify discrimination
against the disabled, divorced persons, seniors, and many
others.
CRC Steps in to Provide Critical Assistance
The court's newfangled property-rights theory was a surprise
even to the local government attorneys on the case, who were
left scrambling to respond within the 14-day deadline for
rehearing petitions. Working within this very tight timeframe,
Community Rights Counsel came up to speed on the case and
assisted in preparing the City's rehearing petition, including
the entire discussion of the property claims and a hard-hitting
summary of the court's constitutional errors and their far-reaching
implications.
The court granted the petition and on August 4, 2000, it
ruled against the landlords on procedural grounds (Thomas
v. Anchorage Equal Rights Comm'n, 220 F.3d 1134 (9th Cir.
2000)).
Link to the full text of the court's opinion in Thomas
v. Anchorage Equal Rights Comm'n.
Additional commentary on the
case:
Ninth
Circuit Finds a New Constitutional "Right" to Discriminate
Against Unmarried Tenants
February 19,
1999, Local Government Law Weekly
Court Errs in
Creating New Right to Exclude
February 22, 1999,
Long Beach Press-Telegram
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