Alum Sarah Martinez's Paper Featured on Civil Rights Web Site
An essay by Sarah Martinez '08 examining the impact of the controversial Arlington Heights I case was discussed in a recent Race Equity Project post. Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation (1976) outlined three types of evidence a plaintiff may use to prove racial discrimination, in part to get around the Intent Doctrine, which forced plaintiffs to prove the defendant had specific intent to discriminate. In her essay, Martinez argued that Arlington Heights I has not been used nearly as effectively as it should have been. Martinez found that in the 30-plus years since the Arlington Heights I decision was rendered, only one case has applied the criteria outlined in Arlington Heights I and found evidence of discrimination—an astoundingly low number.
The Race Equity Project is a special project of the Legal Services of Northern California. It was created in 2003 to combat evolving forms of racial discrimination and prejudice.