UNDERSTANDING civil rights and civil liberties

The law of civil rights and civil liberties deals with situations where a government actor itself violates the law, either by taking action against a citizen in a way that is illegal or denying the citizen the right to exercise legal rights. Many of the most widely publicized cases in this area involve police violence, because the footage of such incidents has become a regular feature of news broadcasts. But civil rights and civil liberties can be at stake in many other situations where the government has power, including in jails, prisons, schools, and public meetings, as well as in regulation of core rights like religious practice, the right to protest, and the right to bear arms.

These cases are a proving ground for Americans’ most basic rights.

This page is a jumping-off point for more detailed discussions of particular causes of action and ways of theorizing harms, listed below. The page is under construction, with new material continually being added. There are also many other good sources of information about this body of law, some of which are free. If you are doing research particularly in the area of jails and prisons, great sources of information include Boston and Manville’s excellent Prisoners’ Self-Help Litigation Manual, 4th Edition, the free Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual published by the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, the free Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook, published by the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Michael Avery’s book Police Misconduct: Law and Litigation.

If you have a concern about a potential civil rights case, call today. Deadlines for preserving certain claims are short, and there is never any advantage to delay.

BANE ACT

Bane Act Overview

BRADY VIOLATION (SUPPRESSION OF EXCULPATORY OR IMPEACHING EVIDENCE)

Brady Overview

DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE TO WELFARE OF INMATE (EIGHTH OR FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION)

Deliberate Indifference Overview - Dangerous Physical Conditions

FIRST AMENDMENT RETALIATION

Claims of First Amendment retaliation involve situations where an individual has been punished or sanctioned for speaking out, or engaging in some other form of constitutionally protected activity. To succeed, these claims must show that the protected speech or action was a “substantial or motivating factor” in the alleged retaliation.

Discipline of Students for Off-Campus Speech (First Amendment)

Retaliation Against Public Employee for Protected Speech (First Amendment)