Attorney General Anthony G. Brown filed an amicus brief in the case of Hare v. David S. Brown Enterprises, Ltd., urging the Supreme Court of Maryland to grant a writ of certiorari to hear the case and protect the fair housing rights of Marylanders under the Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) Act. The brief, filed on September 6, 2024, requests the Supreme Court of Maryland rule that the Defendant applied minimum income requirements in a manner that illegally discriminates against prospective tenants who use Housing Choice Vouchers. The brief details the legislative history of the HOME Act and the clear intent of the General Assembly to protect Housing Choice Voucher participants from the type of housing discrimination at issue in this case. Click for Amicus Brief.
The Office of the Attorney General submitted a memorandum in support of the petition for judicial review in the case of Tyrone Jones in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in March of 2024. Mr. Jones, who in 1999 was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, served ten years in prison before his conviction was overturned and the charges were dismissed. He later sought compensation under the Walter Lomax Act but was denied by an Administrative Law Judge, who cited that conspiracy to commit murder was classified as a felony at the time of his conviction. In our memorandum, we argued that conspiracy to commit murder was undoubtedly a felony at the time the Walter Lomax Act was enacted, and the historical classification should not have been used to deny Mr. Jones' claim. We further asserted that the remedial nature of the Walter Lomax Act should have been liberally construed to fulfill the legislative intent. Additionally, our office successfully led efforts to amend the Walter Lomax Act to include conspiracy to commit a felony. The Circuit Court for Baltimore City has since remanded Mr. Jones' case; further proceedings are pending in the Office of Administrative Hearings. Click for Memo.
The Civil Rights Division conducted an investigation of allegations of sexual harassment by a landlord on the Eastern Shore and found reasonable cause to believe that the landlord was violating State and federal fair housing laws.
Maryland v Sessoms and Mt Vernon Group LLC Complaint
Press Release
Fair Housing Sexual Harassment Know-Your-Rights Flyer
English Gender Based Discrimination in Housing Factsheet
Spanish Gender Based Discrimination in Housing Factsheet
The Attorney General led a coalition of six attorneys general in filing a Supreme Court amicus brief supporting the respondents in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. The brief argued that the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits punishing people for sleeping on public property when they have no other place to lawfully sleep. The brief was prepared by the Civil Division with the assistance of the Civil Rights Division. Click for Brief
Attorney General Brown, along with the attorneys general of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, led a coalition of 14 attorneys general advocating for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to standardize the federal rules on screening public housing applicants with criminal records. The coalition's comment letter responds to a HUD notice of proposed rulemaking. In the notice, HUD sought comments on a proposed amendment to its regulations concerning the use of criminal records in housing decisions. In its letter, the coalition of attorneys general expressed support for HUD's proposed rule that would standardize practices of criminal history screenings across HUD programs and provide individuals with criminal records a fair chance at accessing housing. Click for comment letter
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