Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued the following statement regarding today’s argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, et al., v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.:
“The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs has, in good faith, followed the preference under federal statutes for awarding tax credits to housing developments in lower-income Texas communities. For that, the Department was hauled into court and sued under the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act rightfully prohibits intentional acts of discrimination, and the district court found that the Department didn’t commit intentional discrimination. We believe we have strong arguments in this case and that the law is clear.”
Arguing for the State was Texas’ new Solicitor General, Scott Keller. Most recently, Keller served as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s chief counsel. Before joining the Senator’s staff, Keller was an attorney at Yetter Coleman LLP in Austin. He clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, was a Bristow Fellow in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Solicitor General, and clerked for Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Keller received a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy from Purdue University and a law degree from the University of Texas.