Articles

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied a petition for writ of certiorari in a case concerning Hawaii's discriminatory race-based property tax scheme that forces non-preferred races to pay a higher tax rate.  The case is called Corboy v. Louie. Here's the background.  In 1921, when Hawaii was still a U.S. territory and not a state, Congress passe ...

On Friday, December 9, 2011, the United States Supreme Court considered whether it should agree to accept certiorari in an important equal protection case from Hawaii.  The issue in Corboy v. Louie, is whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a state or municipality from creating tax exemptions that are available o ...

Author: Ralph W. Kasarda Imagine if a state were to enforce a tax scheme that resulted in property owners paying different tax rates–not based on the value of their property–but on their race. Further imagine state courts rejecting a challenge to this discriminatory practice by refusing to consider the equal protection issue. Sound inconceivab ...