In the landmark case of Shelley v. Kraemer in 1947, the U.S Supreme Court held that racially restrictive covenants could not be enforced by courts as they were a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case involved an African-American family, J.D and Ethel Shelley, who purchased a house in St. Louis, Missouri without knowing it was subject to a covenant preventing "people of the Negro or Mongolian Race" from occupying it. When their white neighbors sought legal enforcement of this covenant to prevent them from taking possession, both state and federal courts initially ruled against them on appeal. However, when brought before the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Fred M Vinson's jurisdiction , it unanimously reversed these decisions stating that while private parties may voluntarily adhere to such agreements among themselves; judicial enforcement constitutes state action which is discriminatory and thus unconstitutional under equal protection clause . This decision marked significant progress towards ending legally sanctioned racial discrimination in housing.

In the Shelley v. Kraemer case, there were no dissenting opinions recorded as the decision was unanimous. The Supreme Court ruled 6-0 that racially restrictive housing covenants could not be enforced by state courts as it would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This landmark judgment effectively ended legally-sanctioned racial discrimination in housing policies and set a precedent for future civil rights cases.