Reitman v. Mulkey

California voters passed Proposition 14 in 1964, adding Article I, § 26 to the state constitution to bar the state from limiting a property owner's right to discriminate against renters for any reason. The Mulkeys (plaintiffs), a husband and wife, sued the Reitmans (defendants) under California statutes banning race-based discrimination in rentals, alleging the Reitmans refused to rent to them because of their race. The Reitmans argued Proposition 14 had wiped out those anti-discrimination statutes. The California Supreme Court held that Proposition 14 improperly entangled the state in private discrimination and struck it down, and the U.S. Supreme Court took the case.