Hunter v. Erickson, 393 U.S. 385 (1969)
E809988
Hunter v. Erickson, 393 U.S. 385 (1969), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that a city charter amendment imposing special voting requirements for fair housing laws violated the Equal Protection Clause by restructuring the political process to disadvantage racial minorities.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
landmark equal protection case ⓘ |
| appliedStandardOfReview | strict scrutiny ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
civil rights law
ⓘ
constitutional law ⓘ election law ⓘ |
| challengedProvision | Akron city charter amendment ⓘ |
| citation | 393 U.S. 385 ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted | Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| constitutionalRightProtected | equal protection of the laws ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1969 ⓘ |
| dissentBy | Justice John M. Harlan II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| effect | invalidated Akron’s charter amendment requiring referenda for fair housing ordinances ⓘ |
| fullName | Hunter v. Erickson NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
a city charter amendment requiring voter approval for any ordinance regulating real estate transactions on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry violates the Equal Protection Clause
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a city may not restructure its political process in a way that places special burdens on racial minorities seeking legislation ⓘ |
| impact | limited the ability of local governments to single out race-related legislation for special political hurdles ⓘ |
| issue | validity of a city charter amendment imposing special voting requirements for fair housing ordinances ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| legalDoctrine | political process doctrine ⓘ |
| legalPrinciple | government may not make it more difficult for racial minorities to enact beneficial legislation than for other groups ⓘ |
| legalRule | laws that place special burdens on racial minorities in the political process are subject to strict scrutiny ⓘ |
| locationOfOriginatingDispute | Akron, Ohio NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| lowerCourt | Supreme Court of Ohio NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| lowerCourtDisposition | upheld the charter amendment ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Justice Byron R. White NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| page | 385 ⓘ |
| party |
Erickson (defendant)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Hunter (plaintiff) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| principleAppliedTo | racial classifications in political decision-making structures ⓘ |
| reasoning |
the amendment placed special burdens on racial minorities seeking to secure fair housing protections
ⓘ
the charter amendment explicitly treated racial housing ordinances differently from other ordinances ⓘ |
| recognizedAs | key precedent on political restructuring and minority rights ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Reitman v. Mulkey, 387 U.S. 369 (1967)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, 572 U.S. 291 (2014) NERFINISHED ⓘ Washington v. Seattle School District No. 1, 458 U.S. 457 (1982) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reporter | United States Reports ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
fair housing
ⓘ
municipal referendum requirements ⓘ racial discrimination in housing ⓘ |
| SupremeCourtDisposition | reversed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Ohio ⓘ |
| topic |
racially targeted political restructuring
ⓘ
referendum requirements for civil rights legislation ⓘ |
| volume | 393 ⓘ |
| vote | 8–1 decision ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (dissent on affirmative action)
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reliesOnPrecedent
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Hunter v. Erickson, 393 U.S. 385 (1969)
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