In which case did the Supreme Court strike down a Louisville, Kentucky zoning law that limited African-Americans and other minorities to specific areas?

In which case did the Supreme Court strike down a Louisville, Kentucky zoning law that limited African-Americans and other minorities to specific areas?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education
• B. Plessy v. Ferguson
• C. Buchanan v. Warley
• D. Shelley v. Kraemer

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how the Supreme Court limits state power to use zoning to enforce racial segregation in housing, protecting individuals’ property rights and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Buchanan v. Warley held that Louisville’s ordinance, which barred minority groups from living in white-designated areas and vice versa, was unconstitutional. The Court said this racial zoning forced people to dispose of or acquire property in a way that discriminated solely on race, violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees of liberty and equal protection. In short, the government cannot use zoning to segregate by race and deprive citizens of their property rights through discriminatory regulations. This case differs from Brown v. Board of Education, which addressed public schools; Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld racial segregation under “separate but equal”; and Shelley v. Kraemer, which ruled that courts could not enforce private racially restrictive covenants, but did not strike down a zoning ordinance itself. Buchanan v. Warley directly struck down a zoning law on racial grounds, making it a foundational housing discrimination ruling.

The idea being tested is how the Supreme Court limits state power to use zoning to enforce racial segregation in housing, protecting individuals’ property rights and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Buchanan v. Warley held that Louisville’s ordinance, which barred minority groups from living in white-designated areas and vice versa, was unconstitutional. The Court said this racial zoning forced people to dispose of or acquire property in a way that discriminated solely on race, violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees of liberty and equal protection. In short, the government cannot use zoning to segregate by race and deprive citizens of their property rights through discriminatory regulations.

This case differs from Brown v. Board of Education, which addressed public schools; Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld racial segregation under “separate but equal”; and Shelley v. Kraemer, which ruled that courts could not enforce private racially restrictive covenants, but did not strike down a zoning ordinance itself. Buchanan v. Warley directly struck down a zoning law on racial grounds, making it a foundational housing discrimination ruling.