The ruling upholds the so-called one-strike policy for federal subsidized housing operated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as local housing agencies.

The unanimous ruling affects about 3 million residents of public housing units nationally. The Supreme Court was reviewing four eviction notices issued by the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA), which administers more than 11,000 Section 8 tenants and an additional 3,300 public housing units.

The OHA estimates that 79 percent of its tenants are Black. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote in the court's opinion, "strict liability maximizes deterrence and eases enforcement difficulties." HUD spokeswoman Nancy Segerdahl hailed the court decision as "a great victory for families in public housing." The OHA also applauded the ruling. Spokeswoman Lily Toney said, "Now that we have the Supreme Court to back us up, we will be able to use every tool available to evict people who violate the law and make it unsafe for families."

All four OHA tenants threatened with eviction under this draconian policy are elderly Blacks. Pearlie Rucker, 63 years old, first challenged the policy in 1996 after the OHA tried to evict her because her mentally-disabled daughter was arrested on drug charges three blocks away. Even though the housing authority dismissed the case against her in 1998, the Supreme Court still upheld their right to carry through the eviction.

Plaintiffs Willie Lee, 71, and Barbara Hill, 63, had grandsons allegedly caught with marijuana in the building's parking lot. Both of those cases have also been "satisfactorily resolved," according to the OHA. "I'm very glad," Hill said. "I'm not going to take my grandson off the lease because that would be saying I'm guilty and I'm not."

Herman Walker, who is 75 and confined to a wheelchair, was ordered evicted because his caretaker allegedly came to work one day in possession of cocaine. OHA executive director Jon Gresley stated, "The authority believes that Mr. Walker's continued occupancy of an apartment in a building housing other seniors poses a threat to the other residents of the building."

OHA tenants renew their lease every year and are required to sign a one-page legal document about the one-strike policy. OHA attorney Gary Lafayette defended this intrusion into tenants' private lives by explaining, "Maybe only once in 10 years will you catch them red-handed, but for 10 years we've been watching them, and they've been getting away with it."  
 
'I don't trust the police'
The ruling has sparked a debate here on the fight for decent, affordable public housing, and the increasing number of incidents of harassment by housing cops.

At a protest in Oakland on April 1, Bakari Olatunji pointed out, "President Bush lives in public housing and his daughters have used drugs. Is he on the streets?" One public housing tenant who asked not to be identified told the Oakland Tribune, "It's not fair. Someone who doesn't like you can plant drugs and call the police, and I don't trust the police."

Jessica Oliver, who is 20 and lives in a low-income development in Oakland, agreed. "They wouldn't do this to people living in the [Oakland] hills. If I could afford to live where there aren't drugs I would. If you're in low-income housing it's because you can't afford anything else. Most likely you have nowhere else to go."

Housing cop Nick Jones attended the protest with his dog "Stash" to defend the ruling. He complained to the press about tenants rights. "[Last year] it took us six months to get the person out after we found the drugs," he said of a raid on Section 8 housing.

Bill Kalman is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 120 in San Lorenzo, California.  
 
 
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