| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | OR statute requires a trial 6 days after a service of complaint for nonpayment of rent, and limits the triable issues to tenant's default, precluding defenses based on landlords breach of duty to maintain the premises. |
| Posture: | Unknown |
| Issue: | Does the OR eviction process violate 14A Equal Protection? |
| Holding: | No. |
| Rule: | Non-paying renters in poorly maintained houses are not a protected class. |
| Reasoning: | The statute is for protection of landlords, but also tenants: it provides
a speedy, judicially supervised proceeding.
The constitution doesn't address landlord-tenant relations, and it doesn't authorize courts to extend tenancy while damage claims against a landlord are litigated. Therefore, this isn't like the constitutionally protected rights that require a strong justification in statutory purpose. |
| Dicta: | Douglas (dissenting): there's a lot of poverty, and the home is important. |