Opinion

O'Meara v. Washington State Board Against Discrimination

  • 58 Wash. 2d 793
  • 365 P.2d 1
  • 1961 Wash. LEXIS 368
Court
Washington Supreme Court
Filed
Sep 29, 1961
Status
Published
Author
Hill
On the bench
Mallery, Rosellini, Hill
Cited by
15 cases

The opinion

Hill, J.

(dissenting) — I have signed Judge Rosellini’s dissent, but feel impelled to encumber the record with a brief expression of my own views.

The trial court’s memorandum opinion; quoted and approved by the majority, states clearly the harmful effects of segregated housing. Segregated housing,. of course, is due to a multiplicity of causes; however, the discrimination, *815 which prevents those who have the desire and the means to acquire housing outside the segregated area, is an important contributing factor to its spread and its perpetuation. A great public need exists to end this discrimination.

I am convinced that the police power, the least limit-able of the powers of government, already so extensively used to subordinate the rights of property ownership and of contract where they conflict with the public interest 1 , can be properly exercised to meet that need. I do not think its exercise requires the crutch of publicly-assisted housing. The prohibition should be directed against discrimination, and not against discrimination by some particular group based on their method of financing.

By signing Judge Rosellini’s dissent, I have indicated that I agree that the particular classification used by the legislature can be justified, but that does not mean that its wisdom is not open to serious question.

November 21, 1961. Petition for rehearing denied.

Zoning ordinances; height of buildings; methods of construction; character of materials, etc.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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