An introduction to the legal concept of unconstitutional bias.

If a town council denies a zoning permit for a group home for intellectually disabled persons because residents don't want -those kinds of people- in the neighborhood, the town's decision is motivated by the public's dislike of a particular group. Constitutional law calls this rationale -animus.-

Over the last two decades, the Supreme Court has increasingly turned to the concept of animus to explain why some instances of discrimination are unconstitutional. However, the Court's condemnation...