Thompson v. HUD, 2002-2004.

Thompson v. HUD, 2002-2004. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the City of Baltimore were sued by the ACLU over the siting of public housing.  We were hired by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Baltimore’s neighborhoods at the time public housing was built, and used Census data to reconstruct Baltimore’s neighborhoods from 1940 to the present.  Our analysis showed that in many cases, the neighborhood ethnic mix had changed after public housing was sited.  We also reviewed the various changes in HUD policies regarding the delivery of public housing, from large housing developments, to Section 8 vouchers and projects, then to smaller developments and scattered sites.  In this high profile case, Dr. Lapkoff’s objective report was the only expert report to be used in closing arguments by both defendants and plaintiffs.  The judge’s finding cited Dr. Lapkoff’s testimony frequently and more often than that of any other expert witness in the case.