Administrative law judges in fair housing enforcement: Attitudes, case facts, and political control

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2013

Abstract

Objective: This study investigates the effect of attitudes, case facts, and political control on the fair housing decisions made by administrative law judges (ALJs) at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Methods: Based on data obtained from HUD under a Freedom of Information Act request, we use Probit regression to model the outcomes of every housing discrimination case decided by the entire population of ALJs between 1989 and 2003. Results: We discover significant variation in the likelihood of a pro-complainant outcome and the amount of actual damages awarded in fair housing disputes. Conclusion: The attitudinal model of judicial decision making appears to apply to ALJ behavior in housing discrimination cases. At the same time, case facts, bureaucratic oversight, and other legal factors constrain ALJs. © 2012 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Publication Title

Social Science Quarterly

Volume

94

Issue

2

First Page

362

Last Page

378

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1111/j.1540-6237.2012.00880.x

ISSN

00384941

E-ISSN

15406237

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