Civil Rights Practice

Civil Rights Practice in the United States

Civil Rights Cases in California in 2010

By Erwin Chemerinsky, who is the dean and a professor at UC Irvine School of Law.

An exceptional number of cases raised important civil rights issues in 2010 in California. In one, the California Supreme Court considered whether the California Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) violates due process because accused individuals placed on the list have no fair means by which to challenge or remove their names from it (Los Angeles County v. Humphries, 554 F.3d 1170 (9th Cir. 2009), cert. granted, 130 S. Ct. 1501 (2010)).

Craig and Wendy Humphries were accused of abuse by a rebellious child. The case was dismissed after a doctor confirmed that the abuse could not have occurred. The criminal court found the Humphrieses factually innocent, then sealed and destroyed all court records.

However, the couple was listed on the CACI as “substantiated child abusers,” and no procedure was available to remove them from the data bank. At issue is whether the lack of a corrective procedure denied them due process.

The California Supreme Court also considered whether money damages can be recovered from a state government or state official for violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. § 2000cc). The case (Sossamon v. Texas, 560 F.3d 316 (5th Cir. 2009), cert. granted, 130 S. Ct. 3319 (2010)), which stems from a policy prohibiting prison inmates confined to their cells from participating in religious services, was among the first through which the Roberts Court deals with the scope of sovereign immunity for state governments.

In another case, the California Supreme court decided whether Title VII’s prohibition against retaliation forbids an employer from inflicting reprisals on a third party, such as a spouse, family member, or fiancé of the person who filed the underlying discrimination complaint (Thompson v. North American Stainless, 567 F.3d 804 (6th Cir. 2009), cert. granted, 130 S. Ct. 3542 (June 29, 2010)).

Finally, the California Supreme Court considered who has standing to challenge a state tax credit for parochial school tuition-and whether such a program violates the Establishment Clause (Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, 562 F.3d 1002 (9th Cir. 2009), cert. granted, 130 S. Ct. 3350 (2010)).

Civil Rights Practice in the United States Constitution

According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, the Civil rights practice, as discussed herein, refers to litigation brought pursuant to federal civil rights legislation. Many civil rights statutes exist, some of modern origin and some dating from the reconstruction era following the civil war. The statutes protect individuals.

Presidential Policy

Protection Against Discrimination: Equal Pay

The first piece of legislation President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which empowers women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which an employee can file a claim. The President continued to advocate for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, a piece of legislation that would give women additional tools to fight pay discrimination. And President Obama convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. According to the White House, the “Task Force has helped women recover millions in lost wages, built collaborative training programs that educate employees about their rights and inform employers of their obligations, and facilitated an unprecedented level of inter-agency coordination to improve enforcement of equal pay laws.”

In April 2014, the President signed two executive actions in orden to strength equal pay laws: an Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against employees who choose to discuss their compensation and a Presidential Memorandum instructing the Secretary of Labor to establish new regulations requiring federal contractors to submit summary data on compensation paid to their employees, including data by sex and race. The Department of Labor had to use the data to encourage compliance with equal pay laws and to target enforcement more effectively.

Protecting LGBT Individuals from Discrimination

In favor of greater equality for LGBT Americans, the Obama Administration tried to eliminate barriers to equality, fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and engaging LGBT communities across the country.

Highlighted achievements include, according to the White House:

  • June 2009: Issued a directive on same-sex domestic partner benefits, opening the door for the State Department to extend the full range of legally available benefits and allowances to same-sex domestic partners of members of the Foreign Service sent to serve abroad. OPM also expanded federal benefits for same-sex partners of federal employees and allowed same-sex domestic partners to apply for long-term care insurance.
  • October 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law, extending coverage of federal hate crimes law to include attacks based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity—the first federal civil rights legislation to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
  • March 2010: The Affordable Care Act funds preventive efforts for communities, and is making other investments that will help address health disparities. Through increased research and data collection on health disparities, policymakers will have the knowledge and tools they need to continue to address the health needs and concerns of the LGBT community.
  • April 2010: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) now requires all hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds to allow visitation rights for LGBT patients. The President also directed HHS to ensure that medical decision making rights of LGBT patients are respected.
  • December 2010: The President signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 into law, allowing gay men and women to serve openly and with integrity in the U.S. military.
    February 2011: The Administration announced it would cease legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act’s provision defining marriage as only between a man and woman.
  • February 2013: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) issued a Directive to specify care that is available to transgender veterans through VA benefits. The VA also launched an LGBT Veteran welcoming outreach campaign and established several new psychology postdoctoral fellowships specializing in LGBT health.
  • February 2013: The President signed the VAWA reauthorization with important new provisions to protect LGBT victims of violence.
  • June 2013: The Administration announced the first ever national study of discrimination in housing against LGBT persons and proposed new regulations to ensure that housing programs are open to all persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • June 2013: After the United States v. Windsor decision, in which the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, the President instructed the Cabinet to review all federal statutes to ensure the decision was implemented swiftly and smoothly. After concluding its review, the Justice Department announced that in almost all instances it will extend benefits to same-sex married couples.
  • March 2014: The Community Relations Service at the Department of Justice released a new training module for law enforcement professionals who interact with and protect transgender persons who may be victimized by crime.
  • July 2014: The President signed an Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment “because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin,” continuing to set an example as a model employer that does right by its employees.
  • December 2014: The Attorney General released “Guidance for Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Regarding the Use of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, or Gender Identity” which prohibits profiling based on sexual orientation or gender identity by federal law enforcement or local law enforcement working on federal task forces.

Resources

See Also

  • Civil Rights And Civil Liberties
  • Civil Rights Cases
  • Civil Rights For Hispanics And Asian Americans
  • Civil Rights Act Of 1875
  • Criminal Proceedings
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Civil Rights Removal
  • Speech Rights
  • Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Civil Rights History
  • Civil Rights Act of 1991
  • Minority Rights Civil Rights For Blacks
  • The Civil Rights Cases
  • Civil Rights Act Of 1957

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