Are Civil Rights Better Protected In The US?

Question 1

What are the three ways rights are protected in the UK and US?

Answer 1

-civil rights legislations
-the supreme courts
-pressure groups

Question 2

What civil rights legislation is there in the US? - 1

Answer 2

-civil rights act 1964 signed into law by B.Johnson

Question 3

What did this act do?

Answer 3

-banned racial discrimination in voting
-prohibited voting restrictions e.g literacy tests preventing A-A voting
-entrenched rights

Question 4

What laws did this act also influence?

Answer 4

-Griggs v Duke Power Co. 1971

Question 5

What did this law establish?

Answer 5

-important principles such as disparate impact discrimination
-strengthened protections against indirect discrimination

Question 6

How has this civil rights act changed to better protect rights?

Answer 6

-amended to cater for continuously emerging rights
-e.g. equal employment opportunity act + roe v wade 1973

Question 7

What act is there in the UK that corresponds to this?

Answer 7

-Human Rights Act 1998
-equality act 2010

Question 8

What did the 2010 equality act bring together?

Answer 8

-brought together pieces of equality legislation

Question 9

What is an example of this?

Answer 9

-equal pay act 1970
-race relations act 1976
-disability discrimination act 1995
-employment equality acts 2003 + 2006

Question 10

What did this act do?

Answer 10

-broadened civil rights offer ending a modern comprehensive framework
-included more recent acts = modernising

Question 11

What did the UK civil rights legislation allow for?

Answer 11

-positive action
-specific measures to help underrepresented

Question 12

How was this positive action achieved?

Answer 12

-recruitment
-training or outreach programmes

Question 13

How is this different to the US?

Answer 13

-US affirmative action policies in gov contracting
-limited scope + faced legal challenges

Question 14

What is an example of this?

Answer 14

-Fisher v Uni of Texas Austin
-over admissions policies

Question 15

What happened in this case?

Answer 15

-Fisher claimed discriminated against for race = violated rights
-SC ruled no violation as mild

Question 16

What is the overall judgement considering the US?

Answer 16

-rights better protected
-legislation entrenched with codified + so hard to remove or amend

Question 17

What is the overall judgement considering the UK?

Answer 17

-uncodified - easily replaced or removed
-e.g. June 2022 gov bill remove HRA replace with bill of HR bill

Question 18

What was wrong with this decision?

Answer 18

-but not supported by public
-ignored recommendations of independent HRA review set up by gov

Question 19

How does the US SC protect rights? - 2

Answer 19

-strike down legislation infringing on constitutional rights

Question 20

What is an example of this?

Answer 20

-Brown v Board of Education 1954

Question 21

What occurred in this case?

Answer 21

-SC struck down racial segregation public schools
-under equal protection clause 14th amendment

Question 22

How does the US SC also protect civil rights?

Answer 22

-through landmark rulings
-interpretative amendments

Question 23

What are examples of this?

Answer 23

-row v wade 1973 - abortion right
-obergefell v hodge 2015 - right to same sex marriage

Question 24

How does the UK SC protect rights?

Answer 24

-declare act incompatible with HRA 1998
-refer matter back to parl for consideration + review

Question 25

What is an example of this?

Answer 25

-Hirst v UK 2005 -ban on prisoners voting which violated rights under article 3 ECHR

Question 26

What happened in this act?

Answer 26

-SC declared incompatibility -but allowed certain prisoners right to vote + others not depending on sentence

Question 27

What else can the UK SC do to protect rights?

Answer 27

-can’t make landmark rulings but uses judicial review

Question 28

How does the UK SC use judicial review to protect rights?

Answer 28

-interpret laws to give effect to HR protections -limit scope of laws ensuring compatibility - issue ruling narrowing application of law to ensure no infringe of HR

Question 29

What is an example of thus?

Answer 29

-R v Ministry of justice 2014

Question 30

What was this act concerning?

Answer 30

-concern about nature of law prohibiting assisted suicide -suggested parl reconsider given societal views on issue

Question 31

What is the overall judgement for the US SC?

Answer 31

-more powerful protecting rights -power strike down + landmark rulings

Question 32

What is the overall judgement for the UK SC?

Answer 32

-less signif as no power strike down + only declare incompatibility -doesn’t always work out in SC favour

Question 33

How are US pressure groups used to protect civil rights? - 3

Answer 33

-many access points due to separation of powers -use courts frequently as SC strike down etc.

Question 34

What is an example of this?

Answer 34

-gun right campaigns + second amendment -NRA use financial resources for electioneering which gave degree of influence over US politicians

Question 35

What is another pressure groups?

Answer 35

-the American civil liberties union - ACLU -fought for first amendment protection

Question 36

What did they do?

Answer 36

-representing groups denied right to protest etc. -fought for LGBTQ+ rights

Question 37

What is an example of this?

Answer 37

-LGBTQ+ healthcare provisions act 2010

Question 38

How do UK pressure groups protect civil rights?

Answer 38

-campaign for women’s rights more successful -US no right to paid maternity leave but UK pay for 39 wks

Question 39

How is this seen?

Answer 39

-US in right to paid maternity leave -but UK pay for up to 39 wks

Question 40

How else is this used?

Answer 40

-Uk abortion legal since abortion act 1967 -but US roe v wade 1973 overturned 2022 by Trump

Question 41

What is the fawcett society pressure groups?

Answer 41

-campaign for gender equality -gender pay gap reporting against discriminatory practices that contribute to the gap

Question 42

How do they campaign?

Answer 42

-media e.g. #thisiswhatequalitylookslike -equal pay for women etc.

Question 43

What is the overall judgement for US pressure groups?

Answer 43

-more access point due separation powers -more financial resources e.g. $3.47b spent on lobbying one year

Question 44

What is the overall judgement for UK pressure groups?

Answer 44

-limits on election spending, supporting or opposing candidates + their policies on rights etc.