Legal Opinion
Thomas v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided January 14, 1999No. Nos. 97-35220, 97-35221PublishedCited by 5 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
O’SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:
We must decide whether the enforcement of Alaska housing laws prohibiting apartment owners from refusing to rent to unmarried couples infringes Christian landlords’ rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
I
Kevin Thomas and Joyce Baker are owners of residential rental properties in Anchorage, Alaska.1 Thomas and Baker, as it turns out, are also professed Christians who believe that cohabitation between unmarried individuals constitutes the sin of fornication and that facilitating cohabitation in any way is tantamount to facilitating sin. That…
2Cases cited103 opinions
- Batson v. KentuckySupreme Court of the United States · 1986
- Pierce v. UnderwoodSupreme Court of the United States · 1988
- Brown v. Board of EducationSupreme Court of the United States · 1954
- Cantwell v. ConnecticutSupreme Court of the United States · 1940
- Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York CitySupreme Court of the United States · 1978
98 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by5 opinions
- Hicks Ex Rel. Hicks v. HALIFAX COUNTY BD. EDUC.District Court, E.D. North Carolina · 1999
- 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 414, 99 Daily Journal D.A.R. 1005, 99 Daily Journal D.A.R. 506, 99 Daily Journal D.A.R. 611 Kevin Thomas and Joyce Baker v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and the Municipality of Anchorage, and Paula Haley in Her Official Capacity as the Executive Director of the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, Kevin Thomas and Joyce Baker v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and the Municipality of Anchorage, and Paula Haley in Her Official Capacity as the Executive Director of the Alaska State Commission for Human RightsCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1999
- Kevin Thomas and Joyce Baker v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and the Municipality of Anchorage v. Paula Haley in Her Official Capacity as the Executive Director of the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, Kevin Thomas and Joyce Baker v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and the Municipality of Anchorage v. Paula Haley in Her Official Capacity as the Executive Director of the Alaska State Commission for Human RightsCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2000
- Kevin Thomas and Joyce Baker v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and the Municipality of Anchorage, and Paula Haley in Her Official Capacity as the Executive Director of the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, Kevin Thomas and Joyce Baker v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and the Municipality of Anchorage, and Paula Haley in Her Official Capacity as the Executive Director of the Alaska State Commission for Human RightsCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1999
- Thomas v. Anchorage Equal Rights CommissionCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2000