Passage Discussion

[JenniferK632]

Thank you in advance! Specifically, I'd like to know how much of the attribution principle I should have grasped by the end of this passage.

[CharlesT757]

Here is my input on the passage. I have left out some details and boiled it down to the main points.

P1: The ban on covenants is overall GOOD but the rationale behind the decision is BAD.

P2: Court's rationale, the good ol' 14th Amendment: but 14th applies to state and not private individuals. But property owners are not state actors! Well the courts enforcing the covenants are state actors.

P3: This rationale is BAD. The courts don't even apply this rule.

P4: The fact that the racial content of the covenants was legal but the enforcement by the courts was NOT legal is annoying.

The "attribution" rule is confusing. It refers to attributing the responsibility of violating the 14th amendment. The Supreme Court put the blame on the lower courts for enforcing the racist contents in the covenants. And the rationale is that the courts are acting as state actors when legally enforcing these contracts. I really hope my LSAT studying pays off so I get into law school and learn more about these cases.

And let me know if I missed something.

[Laura Damone]

Nice work, Charles, you nailed it!

Jennifer, the attribution piece is the cornerstone pf paragraphs 2-4, so it is something to firmly grasp by the end of the passage.

During your PEAR process, did you paraphrase the rationale in your head to try to understand the concept? After P2 would be a good place for this.

Alternatively, if you saw it, didn't get it, and thought "I'll come back only if I need to", the beginning of P3 tells you that you need to reengage with that concept in order to understand the rest of the passage.

Hope this helps!