The Case Against Summary Proceedings: Process as Racism and Oppressio

Date:
Author:
Andrew Scherer, Seton Hall Law Review

This Article argues that because of the many ways in which summary eviction proceedings privilege landlords and disadvantage tenants, their very structure is patently unfair. Moreover, because of the racialized nature of landlord-tenant relations, the summary eviction process perpetuates a race-based power imbalance and is structurally racist. This Article explains why the time has come to dispense with the use of the shortcut summary eviction process.