(WASHINGTON POST)  Emily Badger — Civil rights groups and the Obama administration won a major victory Thursday as the Supreme Court upheld a tool that advocates argue is essential to fighting housing discrimination and patterns of segregation that have persisted in America for decades.

In the 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court ruled that the 1968 Fair Housing Act prevents more than just intentional discrimination in the housing market. The court said the law can also prohibit seemingly race-neutral policies that have the effect of disproportionately harming minorities and other protected groups, even if there is no overt evidence of bias behind them.

“The Court acknowledges,” Kennedy wrote, “the Fair Housing Act’s continuing role in moving the Nation toward a more integrated society.”

Source: Supreme Court upholds a key tool fighting discrimination in the housing market – The Washington Post