Wisconsin appeals court: Homeowner can evict roommate because he's black

The Associated Press
March 14, 2017 at 6:33PM

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin appeals court says a white landlord had the right to kick a tenant out of his house because he is black.

Michael Haller forced Martin Jones to move out of his home in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood in 2013 after Haller's wife said she didn't feel comfortable with an African-American living in their house.

Wisconsin law prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants based on race. But the 1st District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the law doesn't apply in this case because Jones was renting a bedroom in Haller's house rather than a separate dwelling unit.

The court said Haller has the right to decide who shares his home.

Jones' attorney hasn't returned a message asking for comment.

about the writer

about the writer

More from Minnesota Star Tribune

See More
In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece

We respect the desire of some tipsters to remain anonymous, and have put in place ways to contact reporters and editors to ensure the communication will be private and secure.