CIVIL RIGHTS

Related Text: Govt in America, Ch

Civil Rights• Protections rooted in 14th amendment:

- Equal protection under law: gov’t must ensure freedom from unreasonable discrimination

- Due process: treatment by gov’t regarding issues of life, liberty, or property must be reasonable, fair, & follow legal procedures & rules

How do we define equality?

Due Process• Procedural due process: when

restricting rights, gov’t must proceed by proper methods (restricts how)

• Substantive due process: content of law must be fair & reasonable when restricting rights (restricts what)

Citizenship Rights• Originally left to states to determine

• 14th – citizenship clause: all persons “born or naturalized”

• Naturalization requirements set by Congress, admin by courts or INS

• Can have dual citizenship in U.S. and select other countries

Citizenship RightsRights of U.S. Citizenship• Many of most impt rights come from state

citizenship (est by residence)• Rights of citizenship often tested in

wartimeRights of Aliens• 14th guarantees all persons due process

& equal protection • States can restrict aliens from some

privileges

Equal Protection of the Laws

• 14th, equal protection clause: no state can deny person equal protection of laws – Used due process of 5th to impose on nat’l

gov’t

• Treating classes/groups of ppl differently constitutional only if reasonable

Equal Protection: Constitutional Tests

III. Strict Scrutiny: classification is based on “compelling interest” & no other way to accomplish goal; burden on gov’t

• Used to test suspect classifications: where ppl have been deliberately treated unequally

–Race, national origin …

• Also for laws infringing on fundamental rights (if guaranteed by Constitution)– Religion, speech …

• Most laws subject to strict scrutiny are struck down

Equal Protection: Constitutional Tests

Govt’s Interest

Law’s Relation to that Interest

Areas of classificati

on

Strict Scrutin

y(inherentl

y suspect)

State interest must be

compelling

Must be necessary to achieve the purpose – “narrowly tailored”

Race, ethnicity

Inter-mediate Scrutin

y

Must be genuine and important to achieving gov’t

interest

Must be substantially

related to achieving that

interest

Gender

Rational Basis

(reason-

ableness)

Needs to be legitimate gov’t interest. Can be hypothetical – need not be

actual

Must be rationally related or non-

arbitrary

Other (age, wealth, etc)

Equal Protection: Other Classes

• Age: not suspect classification, but Congress sensitive to “gray power”– Federal employment protection against

age discrimination

• Sexual orientation: not automatically treated as a suspect class

Equal Justice – Racial Equality

• Post Civil War= 13th, 14th, 15th am. passed; Congress passed civil rights laws– Courts overturned many

• Late 1870s: Reconstruction ends, nat’l govt backs off; segregation/white supremacy in S– Leads to beginning of “Great Migration”

• Late 1930s, WWII: African Americans begin challenging segregation in courts

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954): desegregated public schools

Equal Justice – Racial Equality

• Significant resistance to integration in S• 1960s: civil rights demonstrations; race

rioting throughout U.S.

• 1964: LBJ enacts Civil Rights Act – anti-discrimination law

• 1965: Voting Rights Act

• Since 60s/70s, less political focus on civil rights legislation

Rights to Equal AccessCivil Rights Act of 1964:

• Title II: no discrimination in places of “public accommodation”

• Title VI: any higher education school or institution will have federal funding withdrawn if it discriminates on “race, color, national origin”, gender, age, or disability

• Title VII: can’t discriminate in employment on basis of “race, color, national origin, religion, sex”• Now includes physical handicaps, veterans,

or ppl over 40; Some exceptions!

Equal Justice – Other Races• Hispanic Americans: now largest

minority group in U.S.• Racial discrimination in employment,

housing, etc• Discrimination against immigrants

present- Controversy over how to deal with illegal

immigrants

Equal Justice – Other Races• Native Americans: legacy of forced

removal and assimilation efforts, continuing discrimination and poverty- Since mid-1900s, gov’t has extended more

rights & protections to Indians

• Asian-Americans: all face(d) significant discrimination (employment, housing, etc)

• Arab Americans & Muslims: since 9/11, increased # of bias-related assaults, etc- Issues with treatment of suspected terrorists

• Early 1900s: vigilant women’s suffrage movement

• 1920: 19th am. ratified (South opposed – worried about Congressional interference)

• From 20s-60s, prevailing paternalism/protectionism in laws regarding women

• Equal Rights Amendment unsuccessful

Equal Justice – Women’s Rights

Equal Justice – Women’s Rights

• Gender discrimination is given intermediate level of scrutiny

• More women in workforce/out of home has slowly changed public opinion

• Increasing protection against gender discrimination, harassment in workplace

• More women in military today, but still ineligible for the draft

Civil Rights & Other Active Groups

Age classifications –> rational basis test• Some discrimination prohibited; others

accepted as reasonablePeople with Disabilities • Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990;

rehabilitation lawsGay & Lesbian Rights –> discrimination in

hiring, housing, education, etc• Recently: some states legalizing same-

sex marriage; DADT repealed; SCOTUS cases

Affirmative Action

• Purpose: increase representation from a group that has historically been excluded/discriminated against

• Important Court cases:– University of California Regents v.

Bakke (1978)– Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)– Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

• Today, some states have done away with affirmative action programs– SCOTUS hearing challenges this term

Equal Rights Today• Many legal barriers to equal participation

have been removed• Cause of growth in federal scope &

authority • Criticism: much of civil rights progress

has benefitted middle-class, not growing “underclass” in urban areas

• Some say socioeconomic divisions are more pertinent than racial differences

• Others say need to revive civil rights enforcement, attack residential segregation

Equal Rights Today• Mandatory school busing

implemented to overcome effects of racial segregation

• Segregation: de jure vs. de facto

• Since 90s, less support for court-enforced desegregation efforts• Back to segregation?

• Other efforts …