Justices to Rule if U.S. Treasury Can Shield National Banks From New York Laws

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Four years ago, Eliot Spitzer, then the New York attorney general, asked several national banks to explain why they were disproportionately charging blacks and Hispanics high interest rates.

Instead of an answer, he got a lawsuit. The banks, and the Treasury Department agency that regulates them, persuaded federal courts to bar the state attorney general from enforcing New York antidiscrimination laws.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear New York's appeal. If the state wins, it would mark a break with decades of precedent that mostly favors the powers of the federal government and open a new era for 50 state regulators to play a bigger role.

An interesting legal case.