Reverse Racial Discrimination

[WhyMeAgain30]

FL, small city in South Florida to be exact

Hi everyone. We have fines from the City's Code Enforcement. I'm not quite sure if those fines mean a "lien"? I got a lien search and it doesn't mention a lien anywhere, just the fines.
We're trying to comply but the biggest issue we have is how we got here in the first place and the main reason for it - Reverse Racial Discrimination. We are a white family in a predominantly black city and the City Administration is entirely black. We have thousands of dollars in violations and none of our black neighbors have any fines for more and a lot worse violations. I've been documenting everything and taking pictures for years. I'd like to find a lawyer to go after the City.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[LdiJ]

FL, small city in South Florida to be exact

Hi everyone. We have fines from the City's Code Enforcement. I'm not quite sure if those fines mean a "lien"? I got a lien search and it doesn't mention a lien anywhere, just the fines.
We're trying to comply but the biggest issue we have is how we got here in the first place and the main reason for it - Reverse Racial Discrimination. We are a white family in a predominantly black city and the City Administration is entirely black. We have thousands of dollars in violations and none of our black neighbors have any fines for more and a lot worse violations. I've been documenting everything and taking pictures for years. I'd like to find a lawyer to go after the City.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

You are dealing with a strictly local issue and it is unlikely that anyone here would be familiar with the local laws in your small city. You would be best served to get a consult with a local attorney. You might have to get an attorney that isn't located immediately in your city, as someone right there might not be willing to take on the local establishment.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the Florida Bar lawyer referral service: https://www.floridabar.org/public/lrs/

There will not be a lien placed on your property if you pay the fines and correct the condition(s) that led to Code Enforcement citing you.

I recommend that you do not assume that others in your area have not been cited for code violations or that you have been cited for code violations strictly because of the color of your skin.

 

[WhyMeAgain30]

You are dealing with a strictly local issue and it is unlikely that anyone here would be familiar with the local laws in your small city. You would be best served to get a consult with a local attorney. You might have to get an attorney that isn't located immediately in your city, as someone right there might not be willing to take on the local establishment.

Well there are a lot of similarities in Code Enforcement in almost every city across the country but the bigger issue here is the discrimination against us which is wrong no matter what or where someone lives.
We've been trying to get in touch with an attorney in both matters but have been unsuccessful so far. I just found a large national law firm that specializes in reverse discrimination so we'll definitely be contacting them Monday but I just wanted to get some more info/opinions in the meantime.

 

[WhyMeAgain30]

Here is a link to the Florida Bar lawyer referral service: https://www.floridabar.org/public/lrs/

There will not be a lien placed on your property if you pay the fines and correct the condition(s) that led to Code Enforcement citing you.

I recommend that you do not assume that others in your area have not been cited for code violations or that you have been cited for code violations strictly because of the color of your skin.

Thank you. I'll check it out.
I don't assume anything. I know so. I know that for a fact. This has been going on for 12+ years and if I start giving you examples I can easily write a book...

 

[cbg]

It's either discrimination or it's not. You're not going to find someone with a specialty of "reverse" discrimination because that's not a real thing. It's just as illegal to discriminate against someone because they're in a majority group as it is to discriminate against someone because they're in a minority group. Calling it "reverse" discrimination implies that some forms of discrimination are in some way worse that other kinds.

 

[quincy]

Well there are a lot of similarities in Code Enforcement in almost every city across the country but the bigger issue here is the discrimination against us which is wrong no matter what or where someone lives.
We've been trying to get in touch with an attorney in both matters but have been unsuccessful so far. I just found a large national law firm that specializes in reverse discrimination so we'll definitely be contacting them Monday but I just wanted to get some more info/opinions in the meantime.

There are also a lot of dissimilarities in enforcement codes in cities and states across the country.

Black’s Law Dictionary defines “reverse discrimination” as a prejudice or bias exercised against a person or class for the purpose of correcting a pattern of discrimination against another person or class. It is a type of discrimination in which majority groups are purportedly discriminated against in favor of minority groups. This term was born out of affirmative action programs in the 1960s and 1970s that were used as a remedy for the lingering effects of past discrimination - a way to even the playing field.

What you are describing is discrimination, not reverse discrimination.

 

[cbg]

I agree that the term exists. I stand by my objection to it.

 

[WhyMeAgain30]

It's either discrimination or it's not. You're not going to find someone with a specialty of "reverse" discrimination because that's not a real thing. It's just as illegal to discriminate against someone because they're in a majority group as it is to discriminate against someone because they're in a minority group. Calling it "reverse" discrimination implies that some forms of discrimination are in some way worse that other kinds.

I'm sorry to disagree with you, but not only it's a "real thing" but there are many cases and lawyers specializing in that.
We just haven't been able to find one yet.
Yes, it's still discrimination. It doesn't make it worse, it just specifies what kind of discrimination it is. Like gender discrimination for example.
I doubt it if I call Al Sharpton he'll take on my case.
I can send you some links if you'd like. Google is also your friend...

 

[cbg]

I stand by my response. You aren't the first person to try to tell me that so-called reverse discrimination isn't the same thing as just plain discrimination and I doubt you'll be the last. No one has convinced me yet and you won't convince me either.

 

[quincy]

WhyMeAgain30, you apparently missed my edit. What you are describing here is perhaps discrimination but it is not reverse discrimination simply because a white person is the one purportedly being discriminated against.

You might find more success in finding an attorney to help you if you drop the “reverse discrimination” and refer to the code enforcement citations as something you believe might be “selective enforcement.”

 

[Taxing Matters]

Federal law prohibits federal, state, and local agencies from discriminating based on color or race. The law is the same whether you are White, Black, or any color in between. If your municipal government is discriminating against you in its enforcement of the laws because of your race, you'd want to complain to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and look for a civil rights lawyer. Many lawyers who handle discrimination cases litigate employment discrimination matters and that's not what you need. You need a lawyer who handles discrimination by the government, which is a civil rights matter. Florida's civil rights and antidiscrimination laws are notably very weak, so the state government may not be terribly helpful. In that state you'd typically be better off filing the case in federal court rather than state court because you'll get a much more diverse jury and the judge won't be affected by local politics.

The term reverse discrimination is a misnomer. Illegal discrimination based on race is simply illegal discrimination, no matter the race of the person being discriminated against. The term became popular among the public decades ago when the perception was that only minority races were protected by civil rights laws. That perception is, and always has been, wrong from a legal point of view. You won't find the term reverse discrimination in any of the laws that prohibit discrimination by race.

We just haven't been able to find one yet.

I am a lawyer myself, and I believe that your perception that lots of lawyers specialize in reverse discrimination to be incorrect. Where I practice you won't find a lawyer advertising that it specializes in "reverse discrimination". In part because a lawyer who only takes cases by clients of one particular race is himself/herself also violating the laws that prohibit discrimination based on race. The other factor is that finding white clients with good illegal discrimination claims against the government would be a difficult task as White people are, overall, subject to less discrimination than people of other races.

I think focusing your focus on the term "reverse discrimination" is what is hampering your search for a lawyer. You need a lawyer who handles cases of race discrimination by the government, i.e. a civil rights lawyer. The antidiscrimination laws are different for government entities than they are for private persons or entities. So finding lawyers that handle mostly employment discrimination cases won't help you, for example. So use terms in your search that will more likely find you the right lawyer: civil rights, racial discrimination by the government in enforcement, or quincy's suggestion of the term selective enforcement, etc. Doing that will help you find a lawyer more readily than what you appear to be doing now.

By the way, the term reverse discrimination was originally coined to refer to discrimination against a member of the majority group by someone of a minority group. Using that definition, you wouldn't fit the term reverse discrimination even if it was a legal term. That's because in your community YOU are the are among the minority, not the majority.

 

[WhyMeAgain30]

I stand by my response. You aren't the first person to try to tell me that so-called reverse discrimination isn't the same thing as just plain discrimination and I doubt you'll be the last. No one has convinced me yet and you won't convince me either.

No one is arguing with you. Discrimination is discrimination. Reverse just specifies the type of discrimination. Dismissing it or saying it's not a "real thing" because of that is like saying gender discrimination doesn't exist just because it specifies the type of discrimination. Call it whatever you wanna call it - plain discrimination or extra spicy- it's there and it exists unfortunately...

 

[WhyMeAgain30]

WhyMeAgain30, you apparently missed my edit. What you are describing here is perhaps discrimination but it is not reverse discrimination simply because a white person is the one purportedly being discriminated against.

You might find more success in finding an attorney to help you if you drop the “reverse discrimination” and refer to the code enforcement citations as something you believe might be “selective enforcement.”

It's not "simply" because I'm white. I guess you missed the part where I said that the entire City Administration is black. And that actually is the definition of reverse discrimination. I was just reading about it on a local lawyer's website. I'd be glad to send you the link if you'd like.
Yes, it is "selective enforcement" based on skin color. I've been looking for both for weeks now...

 

[Just Blue]

No one is arguing with you. Discrimination is discrimination. Reverse just specifies the type of discrimination. Dismissing it or saying it's not a "real thing" because of that is like saying gender discrimination doesn't exist just because it specifies the type of discrimination. Call it whatever you wanna call it - plain discrimination or extra spicy- it's there and it exists unfortunately...

Read post # 12 by Taxing Matters.