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    Dismissed: How Rent Courts Process and Punish Low-Income Tenants in Washington, DC

    Cover for Dismissed: How Rent Courts Process and Punish Low-Income Tenants in Washington, DC
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    View/Open: Fleming-Klink, Dismissed.pdf (4.7MB) Bookview

    Creator
    Fleming-Klink, Isaiah
    Abstract
    Drawing from a year of ethnographic fieldwork in court, long-form interviews with tenants outside court, case law review, and a preliminary analysis of administrative court records, this research examines the central institution in Washington, DC’s eviction landscape: Landlord-Tenant Court (LTB). Each year, more than 30,000 cases are filed in LTB, and the court is tasked with processing each case—to varying degrees and through various mechanisms. I find that rather than providing an environment in which adjudication of the law unfolds neutrally, LTB is structured in such a way that prevents tenants from fully realizing their rights and, thus, in a way that disadvantages tenants irrespective of the merits or claims of their case. Specifically, the court’s procedures burden tenants and favor landlords; opportunity costs associated with court compliance pressure tenants into waiving rights and resources and not showing up in court; and the proximity of landlord attorneys to the court and its staff creates an underlying deferral to the interests of landlords.
    Description
    Culture and Politics, Walsh School of Foreign Service
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1054111
    Date Published
    2019-04-15
    Type
    Thesis
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    • Culture and Politics Honors Theses
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    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility