As a civil rights law firm and personal injury law firm with decades of experience, we know that people often have questions after they have been injured. Read below for answers to common questions.
You can also learn more by visiting our pages on employment discrimination, disability discrimination, and military discrimination. If you cannot find an answer, our Texas office in Austin is standing by and ready to assist. Contingency fee agreements are available so you can retain counsel today!
Civil rights can generally be thought of as constitutional rights, that is, rights that are protected by the United States Constitution. This would be things like the right to equal protection under the law and the right to free speech. A number of federal laws have been passed over the years that expand on these rights as well, such as laws protecting against disability discrimination.
The most commonly used law for enforcing civil rights is 42 U.S.C. 1983. This law is pretty straightforward—if a state or local government employee uses their government position to violate a citizen’s constitutional rights, the citizen can file a lawsuit. The citizen can recover damages (money) and, in some cases, their attorney’s fees, thereby encouraging private enforcement of this law.
There are other laws protecting civil rights also, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Civil rights claims come in a lot of shapes and sizes. Different laws are often combined or joined together to bring multiple claims.
Yes. Even if someone is in jail or prison, they still have civil rights. Those rights are limited, but not completely gone.
The most common civil rights issue prisoners face pertains to medical care. Jail officials have a responsibility to facilitate necessary medical care for people in their custody. According to the legal standard, “deliberate indifference” to a prisoner’s health needs may be considered a civil rights violation.
In the legal context, accessibility generally means making things accessible to people with disabilities. There are a lot of different laws that govern accessibility. These laws collectively cover things like employment, housing, interpreters, and architecture.
If you have additional questions about disability or accessibility discrimination, click here.
The term “disability” can be defined in a variety of ways. But in the context of disability discrimination, the most widely-accepted definition comes from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), found at 42 U.S.C. 12102.
Under that definition, disability means a physical or mental impairment that “substantially limits” one of more “major life activities” of an individual, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.
The phrase “major life activities” includes a lot of activities, such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. It also includes the operation of major bodily functions, such as someone’s immune or respiratory system.
Yes, but the rules are nuanced. Generally speaking, a private business does not need to observe someone’s civil rights. For instance, if you are speaking loudly at a restaurant, you can be asked to leave. It is not a free speech issue because the restaurant is not “the government” trying limit speech; the restaurant is a private business. Similarly, a private employer can usually search your work desk without running afoul of any laws, whereas “the government” might need a search warrant for that.
Some civil rights, however, can be violated by private businesses. For instance, race discrimination is prohibited by private businesses. Likewise for disability discrimination. This is a nuanced area of the law, which can also be impacted by whether a private business receives federal funding (e.g., a hospital that accepts Medicare/Medicaid).
Yes. The vast, vast majority of police officers are good public servants trying to help their communities. But occasionally, police officers engage in conduct that crosses the line and turns into a civil rights issue. Usually, these violations occur when conducting a search or when taking someone into custody, although they can also happen after someone is already in custody.
These civil rights violations are usually enforced through “1983 claims,” which are discussed at FAQ #2.
Yes. Civil rights can be violated at work, most commonly through employment discrimination.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects freedom of speech.
Specifically, it states that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Generally, that means the Government cannot control your speech. But there are lots of caveats and exceptions. For example:
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