Thorpe v. Housing Authority of Durham, 393 U.S. 268 (1969)

Citation: Thorpe v. Housing Authority of Durham, 393 U.S. 268 (1969)
Parent Document: Thorpe v. Housing Authority of Durham, 393 U.S. 268 (1969)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 1969-02-24
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/107814/thorpe-v-housing-authority-of-durham/ ↗

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To the contrary, the general rule is particularly applicable here. The Housing Authority concedes that its power to evict is limited at least to the extent that it may not evict a tenant for engaging in constitutionally *283protected activity;44 but a tenant would have considerable difficulty effectively defending against such an admittedly illegal eviction if the Authority were under no obligation to disclose its reasons.45 On the other hand, requiring the Authority to apply the circular before evicting petitioner not only does not infringe upon any of its rights, but also does not even constitute an imposition. The Authority admitted during oral argument that it has already begun complying with the circular.46 It refuses to apply it to petitioner simply because it decided to evict her before the circular was issued. Since petitioner has not yet vacated, we fail to see the significance of this distinction. We conclude, therefore, that the circular should be applied to all tenants still residing in McDougald Terrace, including petitioner, not only because it is designed to insure a fairer eviction procedure in general, but also because the prescribed notification is essential to remove a serious impediment to the successful protection of constitutional rights. IV.

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