The federal jury that convicted two young men of violating the Fair Housing Act when they beat a Hispanic man to death in 2008 was properly instructed to consider “mixed motivations,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled on an issue of first impression in the circuit.

The three-judge panel ruled the district court had been correct in telling the jury that race and occupancy didn’t have to be the only motivations in order to convict the defendants.