Civil Rights Law

While the Freedom of Information Act allows access to government documents, some information can be redacted, or blacked out, in some circumstances, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. If...

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) "prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications and governmental...

Civil rights protect your right to exercise civil liberties without being repressed or discriminated against. In the United States, these rights include freedom of religion, freedom of speech and...

The U.S. Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The law establishes federal civil rights for those with disabilities. A disability is defined as any physical or mental...

Civil rights attorneys represent individuals in lawsuits against government bodies or businesses for discrimination or other civil rights violations. Civil rights attorneys take cases in which...

Roe v. Wade, a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision, established the privacy rights of women in sexual reproductive health.

Worried about losing your American citizenship? Don't be. For those born in the United States, citizenship is a birthright, and therefore is almost impossible to lose except through acts of...

Whether you're in your house, your car, or just dealing on the street corner, when the police come by to ask questions, you need to be on guard. Police are very good at what they do, and lay lots...

Universal health care laws establish a legal right to health care. Germany enacted the first universal health care laws in the 19th century, and the British government followed suit in the early...

To legally carry a firearm almost anywhere in Minnesota, you must hold a Minnesota Permit to Carry a Pistol. As in more than 40 other states, if you meet some simple objective requirements, you...

Land and property ownership is a matter of public record, and anyone can find out who owns land or property in Arkansas. The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) makes these and other public...

Since the AIDS epidemic began in the early 1980s, much has changed in the way that HIV and AIDS are treated medically and legally. A number of laws have been passed to help ensure that individuals...

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has created design guidelines to ensure that transportation facilities are constructed to a set of standards that ensures accessibility for the disabled....

Civil right laws have helped ensure equal opportunities for handicapped individuals. It's illegal to discriminate against handicapped individuals in areas of employment, public transportation,...

Changing your name is challenging and costly. It's challenging because the paperwork is very difficult to understand and fill out. Also, the lines that the courts are very long. After waiting in...

The SMDC Patient Bill of Rights illustrates the health system's commitment to providing quality health care by protecting patients' rights to information, privacy, confidentiality, cultural and...

The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act is a bill before Congress. The bill seeks to require insurance companies to cover hospitals stays for at least 48 hours after a breast cancer patient...

The Americans with Disabilities Act ensures that disabled Americans are not discriminated against for their disability by setting minimum standards of accessibility for all facilities utilized by...

The United States has several federal laws to provide disabled individuals equal opportunities in living, working and educational environments.

Congress has not been idle in providing the handicapped with rights to alleviate their disabilities. They have passed a number of laws that prohibit many forms of discrimination as well as...

All post-1990 construction must comply under federal law with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. The act, intended to provide access to public buildings and other facilities for the...

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. The act ensures that disabled persons receive the same opportunities as every one else. The act defines a...

Black Codes were laws that were written to place strict limits on the freedoms of African-Americans. While many Black Codes were already in place before the American Civil War, they are most...

Only certain citizens of the newly formed United States of America had the right to vote until constitutional amendments were enacted, including the voting rights amendment of 1870. This...

Providing a proper education to a "normal" child requires plenty of work and financial commitments; children with disabilities require much more attention and services than a "normal" child. If...

The practice of law can be fascinating and rewarding. Fighting for justice or for the rights of others is both commendable and challenging. Becoming a lawyer is very difficult, and it takes years...

A bill of rights is any document listing the rights that are guaranteed by a governmental body. A voting bill of rights pertains directly to voting rights. The National Voting Rights Act of...

The power of reprieve is important for individuals who are serving or about to serve a criminal sentence. Whoever has this power has the ability to reduce the convict's sentence. The ability to...

Roe v. Wade is one of the most important U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the history of the United States. It completely altered abortion law in the U.S., and ignited a political war whose effects...

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, amended in 2008, requires the installation of accessible parking spaces for any facility providing goods and services to the public.

Americans consider freedom of speech one of the most important rights guaranteed by our Constitution. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of...

Thurgood Marshall's death in 1993 prompted an editorial that read, "We make movies about Malcolm X, we take a holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, but everyday we live the legacy of Justice...

Laws that require photo identification at the voting booth are becoming more common across the country. With the new laws come criticism that conservative lawmakers are trying to prevent...

Witnesses are vital sources of information. However, care must be taken when questioning a witness. If an interrogator suggests information during an interview, he or she may taint testimony given...

Our society views the right to privacy as fundamental to our way of life. Without it the government may intrude into our lives, search our homes, and seize our papers without penalty. In order to...

Recent political debates about issues such as health care have highlighted the importance of freedom of expression. The vast majority of people in the United States agree that you should not be...

The most vulnerable populations of women in Mexico are indigenous women and maquiladora workers. Women gained the right to vote 62 years ago, but their legal and economic rights vary among Mexican...

Abortion is a very divisive issue in America. Those who wish to ban abortion and those who want it to remain legal have powerful support in society and government. Inevitably, disputes between...

Although the Soviet Union collapsed 18 years ago, women's rights have not made great progress in what is now Russia. Repeatedly on the list of organizations which tally human rights violations...

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) approximately 4.1 percent of adults in the age group of 18 to 44 have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). These people are protected by...

There are many threats to freedom today, such as terrorism, fanaticism and fundamentalism. However, we don't often hear of the threat of police misconduct. Police misconduct is not a thing of the...

Defamation is a false and unprivileged statement of fact that is harmful to someone’s reputation, and published “with fault,” meaning as a result of negligence or malice. State laws often define...

An attorney who works with clients on grounds of discrimination, sexual harassment or other human rights is known as a civil rights attorney. This attorney has gone through the same training and...

Selective incorporation is a legal doctrine that protects the rights, immunities and privileges of U.S. citizens from state laws. It is a product of the convoluted path taken by a debate at the...

Dear First Lady, Hi, my name is Sabrina Wilder and I live at 716 E 105th St. Brooklyn, NY 11236. I didn't have anyone else to turn to for a major problem that I have with he NYCHA a project...

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Or so says the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This so-called "Establishment Clause" has been the basis for what is...

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people who have disabilities or who are perceived as having an impairment. Prior to the ADA, people with disabilities had...

The Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1966 to promote government transparency and increase public accountability for the policies, procedures and actions undertaken by agencies of the...

American citizens' rights are set forth and protected by the United States Constitution. This living document was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788. Government officials such as the president...

The work of law enforcement is a honorable line of work, and should receive the utmost respect. With that being said the role of the officers are stated clearly in their oath to protect and to...