Smith v. Fair Employment & Housing Comm'n
Supreme Court of California
913 P.2d 909 (Cal. 1996)
Relevant factsFree
Landlord Smith (defendant) refused, based on her religious belief that extramarital sex is sinful, to rent to an unmarried couple, Randall and Phillips, once she learned they weren't actually married; the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (plaintiff) found she violated the state's marital-status antidiscrimination law, and Smith argued she discriminated based on their conduct rather than their status, and that the law violated her state and federal free-exercise rights.
IssueFree
Whether, when a landlord's religious beliefs prohibit renting apartments to unmarried couples, the landlord must be granted an exemption from laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of marital status.