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2012-2013 McGee National
Civil Rights Moot Court:
Competition Problem
The problem for the Twenty-Eighth Annual William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition considers whether an urban renewal plan that would displace low income housing occupied predominantly by African American and Latino residents in favor of a higher priced housing development would constitute discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act, i.e. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.
The
competition case is Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc. v. Twp. of
Mount Holly, 658 F.3d 375 (3d Cir. 2011). In the actual case, a Petition for Certiorari
is pending before the United States Supreme Court.
Teams are asked to assume that the
petition was granted and that the case is now before the United States Supreme
Court.
Teams
are to limit their arguments to the following questions presented:
- Are disparate impact claims cognizable under the
Fair Housing Act?
- If such claims are cognizable, should they be
analyzed under the burden shifting approach used by three circuits, under the
balancing test used by four circuits, under a hybrid approach used by two
circuits, or by some other test?
The
designated record for the competition case is limited to the adjudicative facts
contained in the following decisions and record:
- Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action,
Inc. v. Twp. of Mount Holly, 658 F.3d 375 (3d Cir. 2011);
- Mt.
Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc. v. Twp. of Mount Holly, No. 08-2584
2011 WL 9405 (D.N.J. 2011); and
- A
supplemental fact record that will be uploaded into the private information for
teams area of the website next week.
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