Civil Rights

1. Civil Rights The Korematsu case Protest, 2007

2. Remember Civil liberties versus civil rights--civil rights are policies that extend basic rights to groups historically subject to discrimination; civil liberties are freedoms that are guaranteed to the individual. The guarantees take the forms of restraints on government. In contrast, civil rights declare what the government must do or provide.Civil rights are powers and privileges that are guaranteed to the individual and protected against arbitrary removal at the hands of the government or other individuals. Civil libs are protected by the ______ ________ clause of the __________ Amendment Civil rts are guaranteed by the _______ ___________ clause of the __________ Amendment

3. This is a CIVIL Rights case, not a civil liberties case FIRST DAY The Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education integrated the schools. But today its meaning is at issue. Here, the first day of desegregation, on Sept. 8, 1954, at Fort Myer Elementary School in Fort Myer, Va NYT Dec 10 2006

4. And this is a civil _________case, not a civil _________case

5. And this is a ________ ____________, not a _______ ____________ issue

6. What’s the Constitution say about equality? _______amendment is the ONLY place you see equality “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” In the _______ ___________ clause

7. Other amendments that grant civil rights ____: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. ____The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. _____The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. _____: The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Note: these are NOT the Bill of Rights

8. SO . . . when can the gov’t discriminate? That is, treat one group differently from another? All the time . . . All they have to meet is the rational basis test Classification is reasonable if:         It bears a reasonable relation to . . A legitimate governmental purpose Plaintiff has the burden of proof

9. But if theydiscriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity . . . Then they are discriminating against a SUSPECT CLASS Those classifications are "inherently suspect" so they get "strict scrutiny" This switches the B of P to the govt who must prove A compelling public interest and that there is NO other way to accomplish the purpose of the law This is true, even if discriminating for a “good” (benign) reason . . . Adarand Constructors v Pena (1995)

10. So what about women? Laws which discriminate against women are “quasi-suspect” So they get “heightened scrutiny” State must show its law bears a “substantial relationship” to an “important gov’t interest”

11. Reed vs Reed 1971: The Idaho Probate Code specified that "males must be preferred to females" in appointing administrators of estates. After the death of their adopted son, both Sally and Cecil Reed sought to be named the administrator of their son's estate (the Reeds were separated). According to the Probate Code, Cecil was appointed administrator and Sally challenged the law in court. Landmark first case to uphold claim for gender disc

12. An Oklahoma law prohibited the sale of "nonintoxicating" 3.2 percent beer to males under the age of 21 and to females under the age of 18. Curtis Craig, a male then between the ages of 18 and 21, and a licensed vendor challenged the law as discriminatory. Established medium scrutiny . . . The case name? Craig vs Boren 1976

13. So . . . How about laws which discriminate against other groups? The old? Handicapped? The young? They are NOT protected by the 14thamendment any more than most other groups Standard of Scrutiny: Reasonableness- Does the classification have a rational relationship to a legitimate gov’t goal?

14. And another example: Federal Court Reinstates Suit on Gays in Military May 22, 2008 By ADAM LIPTAKThe federal appeals court in California on Wednesday reinstated a lawsuit challenging the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the armed forces so long as their sexual orientation remains private. The case was brought by Maj. Margaret Witt, a flight nurse who served in the Air Force for two decades, received several medals and was featured in the service’s promotional materials. Major Witt also shared a life with a woman not affiliated with the military for six years in Spokane, Wash., about 250 miles from the base to which she was assigned. The women kept their relationship private, and the decision did not say how the Air Force found out about it. One of Major Witt’s lawyers described what happened. “Some citizen in Spokane,” the lawyer, James E. Lobsenz, said, “called up and said there are these lesbian women living in a house here and one of them is in the Air Force and you should know that.” Following an investigation and military hearing, Major Witt was discharged. Major Witt filed a lawsuit challenging the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as a violation of the Constitution’s due process and equal protection clauses. In 2006, Judge Ronald B. Leighton, of Federal District Court in Tacoma, Wash., dismissed the case. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the appeals court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, disagreed, reinstating much of Major Witt’s suit and returning the case to Judge Leighton for further proceedings.

15. The decision was notable for the standard the appeals court instructed Judge Leighton to use in considering the case. The panel said judges considering cases claiming government intrusion into the private lives of gay men and lesbians must require the government to meet a heightened standard of scrutiny. The usual standard is called “rational basis” review, which merely requires the government to offer a rational reason for a law or policy. The rationale offered by Congress for the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is that openly gay and lesbian service members threaten morale, discipline and unit cohesion. Several courts have sustained the policy as rational. On Wednesday, Judge Ronald M. Gould, joined by Judge Susan P. Graber, ruled that in cases like Major Witt’s, the government must go further than simply showing a rational basis for its action, instead proving in each case that an important government interest is at stake and that the intrusion into the plaintiff’s private life significantly advanced the interest. The majority stopped short of requiring strict scrutiny, an even more searching standard used in race discrimination cases. It also dismissed Major Witt’s equal protection claim, ruling that it was bound by anearlier panel decision on that point. Judge William C. Canby, the third judge on the panel, would have gone further. He said he would have required the Air Force to satisfy strict scrutiny by proving that the policy served a compelling (rather than merely important) state interest.

16. So note: First: this should illustrate how the test works. . .\ BUT This was not an EP clause case—it was a DP clause case Laws denying EP to gays would not get heightened scrutiny—but laws which invade PRIVACY do . . . Well according to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that is

17. So . . . For the government to (invade privacy) and discharge gays it must prove that their firings further military goals, the panel said. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/24/federal-judge-orders-lesbian-flight-nurse-reinstated-air-force-reserve/ Ruling Favors Lesbian Air Force Nurse; Sept 24, 2010 Leighton determined after a six-day trial that Witt's discharge advanced no legitimate military interest. To the contrary, her dismissal hurt morale in her unit and weakened the squadron's ability to carry out its mission, he ruled. "There is no evidence that wounded troops care about the sexual orientation of the flight nurse or medical technician tending to their wounds” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/us/politics/25nurse.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=witt%20don't%20ask%20don't%20tell&st=cse

18. So how else can these groups be protected? By law . . . The Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

19. SO . . . Let’s see if you get it Groups can gain Civil Rights protections in several ways . . . What are they? The Constitution . . . What are those amendments again? 14, 15, 19, 24, 26th

20. The Courts . . . Interpreting the Constitution

21. Baker vs Carr: malaportionment violates equal protection because it violates the “one person, one vote” principle Discrimination for “good reasons” can’t look like quotas Gratz vs Bolllinger

22. The Courts . . . As umpires let Congress “trump

23. And Congress can protect groups By passing a ________________

24. But those laws mean Congress is telling private individuals and the states what to do? To “trump” under the supremacy clause, the must have either an enumerated or implied power to do so . . Commerce clause and the power to tax and spend. . . But the commerce clause argument is hard when it comes to states because of the _____Amendment? 11th --That’s right . . . SO States can’t be sued under the employment discrimination part of the ADA Univ. of Alabama v. Garrett: 5 to 4 : When it comes to the accommodation part: State’s can’t deny you a fundamental right . . . Like access to the courthouse . . But even that was a 5-to-4

25. it is easier for Congress to tell states what to do if it is a suspect class at issue because of the 14th amendment’s section 5 Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

26. Civil Rights Act of 1964

27. Title II Outlawed discrimination in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce; exempted private clubs without defining the term "private." Title III Prohibited state and municipal governments from denying access to public facilities on grounds of race, religion, gender, or ethnicity. Title IV Encouraged the desegregation of public schools and authorized the U.S. Attorney General to file suits to enforce said act. Title VI Prevented discrimination by government agencies that receive federal funding. If an agency is found in violation of Title VI, that agency can lose its federal funding. Title VII Prohibits discrimination in employment on same basis--plus gender

28. Voting Rights Act 1965 Echoing the language of the ____Amendment, the Act prohibited states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color." Specifically, Congress intended the Act to outlaw the practice of requiring otherwise qualified voters to pass ________ tests in order to register to vote, a principal means by which Southern states had prevented African-Americans from exercising the franchise

29. CASES ON VOTING RIGHTS As for the old court, an obscure Texas water district gave rise, somewhat incongruously, to what is widely considered the most important case of the term. The legal question in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder, No. 080322, was whether Congress overstepped its bounds in 2006 by its latest reauthorization of a key section of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. The section requires states and localities with a history of racial discrimination, mostly in the South, to get "preclearance" from the federal government before changing their voting procedures. The water district is considered a political subdivision under the Voting Rights Act, and so is subject to the preclearance provision when it changes the way it elects board members. The district's lawyers have complained that subjecting the water entity to such a bureaucratic hurdle makes no sense, as the district did not even exist until the late 1980's and does not discriminate. In an 8-to-1 decision, the court ducked the central question in the case and instead ruled on a narrow statutory ground. The court said the utility district in Austin, Tex., that had challenged the constitutionality of the law might be eligible to "bail out" from being covered by it. The district, which manages water and other utilities and has an elected board, had pressed the bailout argument along with its constitutional challenge. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, acknowledged that the court's approach stretched the statutory text, but he said the court should avoid deciding hard constitutional questions when it could. In opting to put off a ruling on constitutional grounds, the justices nonetheless made a powerful statement. They took a hard look at the current historical moment and decided that it has not yet come fully into focus. What remains to be seen is whether other jurisdictions will now take advantage of the opening the court has given them to try to opt out from coverage under the law. Only Justice Clarence Thomas, who dissented in part, would have addressed the larger question in the case. He said the progress in helping African-Americans secure the right to vote cited by Chief Justice Roberts meant Section 5 was no longer needed. The jurisdictions subject to Section 5 were selected based on whether they had used devices to discourage voting, like literacy tests, and data from the 1964, 1968 and 1972 elections. Congress used those same decades-old criteria when it renewed the law in 2006. The Act established extensive f_______ oversight of elections administration, providing that states with a history of discriminatory voting practices could not implement any change affecting voting without first obtaining the approval of the Department of _______________. These enforcement provisions applied to states and political subdivisions (mostly in the_______) that had used a "device" to limit voting and in which less than 50 percent of the population was registered to vote in 1964. Congress has amended and extended the Act several times since its original passage, the most recent being the 25-year extension signed by President Bush

30. ADA of 1990    WHO: anyone with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, who has a record of such impairment or is regarded as having such impairment Applies to all private employers with 15 or more employees and all public entities, regardless of the size of their work force             EMPLOYMENT: can not be denied employment or promotion if with "reasonable accommodation" they can perform the job. If "undue hardship”--employer off the hook. PUBLIC ACCOMODATIONS: disabled must enjoy "full and equal" access to hotels, restaurant, stores, schools, parks etc. Owners of existing facilities must alter to maximum extent feasible". New facilities must ensure that they are accessible unless impossible.

31. MORE: .[17] Title IX, is a United States law enacted on June 23, 1972 that states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."Although the most prominent "public face" of Title IX is its impact on high school and collegiate athletics, the original statute made no reference to athletics

33. October 1, 2007 Yale Law, Newly Defeated, Allows Military Recruiters By THOMAS KAPLAN NEW HAVEN, Sept. 30 — For five years, Yale Law School has fought to restrict military recruiters from its job fairs because of the Pentagon’s policy that bars openly gay or bisexual people from the military. But with the federal government threatening to withhold $350 million in grants if the university does not assist the recruiters, that fight will all but end on Monday. After an appeals court ruled in favor of the Defense Department on Sept. 17, the law school said it would allow recruiters from the Air Force and Navy to participate in a university-sponsored job interview program for law students on Monday afternoon. For now, the legal battle to stop the recruiters is over, said Robert A. Burt, a Yale law professor and the lead plaintiff in the case. “The judges who hold office at the moment disagree with us,” Professor Burt said. “We must wait for history to vindicate our position.” At question is a statute called the Solomon Amendment, which allows the federal government to withhold funds from universities that do not extend the same welcome to military recruiters as they do to other recruiters. Since 1978, Yale Law School has required recruiters to sign a pledge of nondiscrimination. Military recruiters would not do that because of the Defense Department’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which permits homosexuals to serve in the armed forces as long as they keep their sexual orientation private. But in 2002, the federal government threatened to withhold the millions it grants to Yale every year, mostly for medical and scientific research, if the law school did not accommodate the recruiters. The law school complied, but 45 members of its faculty filed suit, challenging the law as an infringement on free speech and association as well as academic freedoms. (Yale College has not restricted the activities of military recruiters.)

34. Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. Of course, Congress could also start the process to ______ the constitution The ERA The ERA was introduced into every session of Congress between 1923 and 1972, when it was passed and sent to the states for ratification. The seven-year time limit in the ERA's proposing clause was extended by Congress to June 30, 1982, but at the deadline, the ERA had been ratified by 35 states, leaving it three states short of the 38 required for ratification. It has been reintroduced into every Congress since that time.

36. People can advocate for protection: The Civil Rights Movement • Strategy: Non-violent protest of segregated society • Movement’s tactic: Civil disobedience=> • Greensboro “Lunch counter sit-in” (1960) • CORE Freedom Rides – summer of 1961=> • Escalating violence • MLK & Birmingham protest march=> violence • Voter registration drives in South => violence • Tactics serving strategy: Non-violent protesters attacked by police dogs on national TV • Nation’s reaction => impact on Congress?

37. Social movements: a large group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve social change—done outside of traditional intuitions like parties

38. Presidents can impact civil rights Eisenhower does what?

39. On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education that segregated schools are "inherently unequal."  In September 1957, as a result of that ruling, nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The ensuing struggle between segregationists and integrationists, the State of Arkansas and the federal government, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus has become known in modern American history as the "Little Rock Crisis." The crisis gained attention world-wide. When Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround Central High School to keep the nine students from entering the school, President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to insure the safety of the "Little Rock Nine" and that the rulings of the Supreme Court were upheld.

40. President’s can use the “bully pulpit” John F. Kennedy addresses the nation about Civil Rights on June 11, 1963 President’s legislative power: to sign bills Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Among the guests behind him is Martin Luther King, Jr.

41. Presidents can use executive orders Executive Order 11246 enforces affirmative action for the first timeSept 1965 Issued by President Johnson, the executive order requires government contractors to "take affirmative action" toward prospective minority employees in all aspects of hiring and employment. Contractors must take specific measures to ensure equality in hiring and must document these efforts. On Oct. 13, 1967, the order was amended to cover discrimination on the basis of gender. Desegregating schools

42. The bureaucracy (part of the executive branch) can impact civil rights FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1996 (202) 616-2777 TDD (202) 514-1888 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO DISPATCH FEDERAL OFFICIALS ACROSS THE NATION TO MONITOR TUESDAY'S ELECTIONS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In an effort to protect the integrity of the voting process and to prevent the intimidation of minority voters across the country, the Justice Department will dispatch 328 federal officials to nine states for tomorrow's general elections.The states include Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, California, New York, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Under the Voting Rights Act, which protects the rights of Americans to participate in the electoral process, the Justice Department can send federal observers to areas that are specially covered in the Act. "Our democracy rests on the right to vote," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "The observers will help ensure that every American has a fair opportunity to cast their ballot." Protecting the Rights of Native Americans In Arizona, 64 federal observers will obtain information from polling locations in Apache and Navajo Counties to determine whether the counties are complying with the language minority provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Under the provisions, certain jurisdictions must provide language interpreters to Native American voters, where necessary. Navajo language interpreters are required in these counties. In New Mexico, 46 federal observers will monitor polling locations in Cibola, Sandoval and Socorro Counties. Observers will determine whether the counties are complying with an Indian language program that was established through previously-entered consent decrees for persons who speak the Navajo and Pueblo languages. The decrees resulted from lawsuits filed by the Justice Department. Another 17 officials will monitor polling locations in San Juan County,

43. “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” States can impact civil rights Wallace standing against desegregation while being confronted by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach at the University of Alabama in 1963.

44. James Meredith, center, is escorted by federal marshals as he enters the University of Mississippi, in Oxford, in September 1962. Mr. Meredith was the first black student to attend Ole Miss, and his enrollment sparked riots by white students and residents that led to two deaths. The campus is the site of the first presidential debate on Friday.

45. Army trucks, carrying marshals in steel helmets, rolled across the University of Mississippi in September 1962. They were called in to enforce a federal court order to enroll Mr. Meredith at the previously segregated school. Chancellor Robert C. Khayat sees the presidential debate as an opportunity to supplant the image of the university that is most closely linked to civil rights-era violence. Are we noticing the powers of the different institutions in our sep or powers system? and how the diff institutions impact civil rights? The _______ can by making rulings that the constitution ensures civil rights, by interpreting laws to protect civil rights (or not) and by ordering other branches to provide civil rights. But only the ________ can enforce that order—the ______ can’t call out the army.

46. Left, someone glued the word "white" onto a sign greeting Ole Miss students days before Mr. Meredith arrived in September 1962. Right, the sign with the word removed.

47. Students surrounded the car carrying Mr. Meredith in October 1962. Since the arrival of Chancellor Khayat in 1995, black enrollment at Ole Miss has increased to 14 percent, from 5.8 percent.

48. Mr. Meredith being escorted on the first day of class by James McShane, chief United States marshal (who is part of which branch?).

49. Hoisting a Confederate flag, hundreds of Ole Miss students protested integration of the school in front of the registrar's office on Sept. 20, 1963. Mr. Khayat, a former Ole Miss football player, banned Confederate flags at football games, sparkling controversy that earned him death threats.

50. Affirmative Action