Legal Opinion
Attorney General v. Desilets
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided July 14, 1994PublishedCited by 59 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtWilkins, J.
This case involves the tension between a statutory mandate that a landlord not discriminate against unmarried couples in renting accommodations and a landlord’s sincerely held religious belief that he should not facilitate what he regards as sinful cohabitation.
The defendants, who are brothers, own a four-unit apartment house in the Turners Falls section of the town of Montague. Paul and his wife jointly own two other apartment buildings in Turners Falls which have a total of twenty-one residential units. In August, 1989, Paul, acting for himself and his brother, declined to consider leasing…
2Cases cited38 opinions
- Wisconsin v. YoderSupreme Court of the United States · 1972
- Sherbert v. VernerSupreme Court of the United States · 1963
- Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. SmithSupreme Court of the United States · 1990
- West Virginia State Board of Education v. BarnetteSupreme Court of the United States · 1943
- Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of HialeahSupreme Court of the United States · 1993
33 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by59 opinions
- Parker v. Town of LexingtonCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2008
- Goodridge v. Department of Public HealthMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2003
- Roman Catholic Bishop v. City of SpringfieldCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2013
- People of Guam v. Benny Toves GuerreroCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2002
- Smith v. Fair Employment & Housing CommissionCalifornia Supreme Court · 1996
54 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.