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With Justice Kennedy’s Retirement, Fair Housing in Peril:


            With Justice Kennedy’s retirement comes the possible overturning of decisions that will affect society broadly, one of them being Tex. Dep't of Hous. & Cmty. Affairs v. Inclusive Cmtys. Project, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 2507 (2015).  Kennedy was the swing vote that decided on “disparate impact”, which prohibits discrimination in housing when the discrimination is not intended. In Inclusive Community Projects housing waivers where being concentrated in minority and lower income neighborhoods which denied the recipients the benefits of being part of a more opportunists neighborhood.             Furthermore, under Secretary Carson HUD has said that they will reexamine their desperate impact rule. There is no need to do this as the SCOTUS has already adjudicated that this rule is constitutional. There are fears that if HUD stops or softens the enforcement of this rule legal battles will ensue. If these legal battles make their way to the SCOTUS, then it is possible that Inclusive Community Projects will be overturned without Kennedy’s swing vote. 

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