Constitutional Law: Round 1 to Proposition 14

Negroes were stunned last fall when Californians voted 2 to 1 for "Proposition 14" — a constitutional amendment voiding state laws against housing discrimination. The amendment affirms the right of any property owner "to decline to sell, lease or rent such property to such person or persons as he, in his absolute discretion, chooses." Arguing that the amendment amounts to approval of racial discrimination, N.A.A.C.P. lawyers are trying to get it declared unconstitutional. Last week they got their first court decision—and lost.

The suit was filed in Sacramento against Crawford Miller, an insurance investigator and landlord who seeks to evict...