Civil Rights Flashcards
Equal protection clause
14th amendment
-No State shall make or enforce any which shall… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
The Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories. Finally, the Court declared that the rights of slaveowners were constitutionally protected by the Fifth Amendment because slaves were categorized as property.
-Dred Scott uses the law to sue for freedom (he was moved to a free state)
Barriors to voting for African Americans
i. Poll tax (later abolished by the Twenty-fourth Amendment)
ii. Literacy test
iii. Grandfather clause
iv. White only primary
Jim Crow laws
- legalized segregation
- de facto discrimination: discrimination (based on a person’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) faced by that person or group in the daily conduct of everyday life in a particular society that is not supported or mandated by the laws of that society
- Seperate but equal doctrine allows for this
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
NAACP Brought Brown v. Board of Education
i. Overturned "separate but equal" doctrine
ii. Brown II- "with all deliberate speed"
ii. Pres. Eisenhower used the National Guard to desegregate Little Rock Central H.S.
a. Eisenhower was upholding the SC's ruling in Brown
iii. Many Southerners resisted Brown
a. A few Southern schools shut down
b. Fifteen years after Brown, less than 5% of the schools were integrated
Affirmative action
A. Its Definition
1. Government policies/programs that seek to redress past injustices against certain groups by making special efforts to provide them with access to employment and educational opportunities
a. Deals with hiring, training & promoting of women & minorities
B. Requires that an organization makes intention efforts to diversify its workforce
C. Misconceptions
1. Minority candidates are always hired, even if unqualified
2. Quotas are used
D. Court cases
1. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
a. UC Davis' plan set aside 16/100 seats in its first year medical school class for minorities
b. Quotas and separate admissions for minorities= unconstitutional
c. Affirmative action = constitutional b/c the goal is to enhance diversity ("compelling state interest")
d. Race can be one of many factors in college/university admissions
2. Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
a. Assigning a certain number of points for race = unconstitutional
b. Reaffirmed Bakke
3. Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
a. Affirmative action is subject to strict scrutiny
b. Affirmative action was upheld because it provides diversity is schools
i. Diversity = a “compelling reason”
ii. However, it’s only allowed to use Affirmative Action if they can show that there is no race neutral way to achieve diversity
c. The law individually looked at each law school applicant
i. It was narrowly tailored (i.e. not “mechanical”)
4. Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Supervisors (2007)
a. Race cannot be used as a factor to assign student to elementary school to ensure diverse student body (even if voluntary)
b. "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." -CJ John Roberts
c. Affirmative action is subject to strict scrutiny
5. Other cases about Affirmative Action (like Fisher v. Texas)
a. Any race neutral way of achieving diversity that is done with the “purpose and effect of using race is a racial classification.”
b. Racial classifications are “suspect”
i. it triggers strict scrutiny
E. Arguments for Affirmative Action
1. Helps overcome disadvantages from past discrimination
2. Allows minorities to be more integrated into society
a. Some minorities have less opportunities in housing, education, career, etc so this helps level the playing field
b. For example, because property taxes provide most local revenue for K-12 schools, there are huge gaps in educational quality depending on the neighborhood one grew up in
3. Promotes diversity
4. Enhances tolerance
5. Provide important role models for disadvantaged groups
6. Helps break stereotypes
F. Arguments against Affirmative Action
1. People should be treated individually
2. Brings "reverse racism"
3. Increases racial tension
4. Benefits those within each preferred who are already advantaged
i. i.e. middle or upper class blacks
5. Lowers standards of accountability needed to push students/workers to perform better.
6. Students admitted on this basis are ill-equipped to deal with the schools to which they've been admitted
7. Attaches a stigma to its recipients
G. Status of Affirmative Action
1. As of right now, it is legal for states to pass propositions/initiatives that ban Affirmative Acion
a. Californians passed Prop 2009 in 1996
b. People in Michigan passed Proposal 2 in 2006
De jure vs. de facto discrimination
A. African Americans today have equal rights under the law (de jure)
B. In reality, they still suffer from discrimination (de facto)
1. Twice as likely to be unable to find a job and live in poverty
2. Much more likely to receive harsher prison sentences/be on death row
3. More likely to be discriminated in home mortgage lending
4. Far more likely to be stopped and frisked
Fifteenth Amendment (1870)
a. De jure allows African Americans to vote i. in reality (de facto) there were methods used to prevent it
1964 Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act of 1964
1. Bans discrimination in interstate public accommodations
a. Congress’ justification: "Necessary & Proper" Clause
2. Prohibits discrimination in employment
a. including against sex, color, national origin
3. Government can end federal aid to schools that practice racial segregation
4. Irony: LBJ, a Southern politician, convinced Congress to pass the 1964 CRA
a. when he was in TX, he allowed segregation for the purpose of an election.
i. His quote about it: "if you can convince the lowliest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you are picking his pocket. Hell, give him someone to look down on and he'll empty his pockets for you."
Regents v. Bakke (1978)
-Supreme Court ruled that a university’s use of racial “quotas” in its admissions process was unconstitutional, but a school’s use of “affirmative action” to accept more minority applicants was constitutional in some circumstances. The case involved the admissions practices of the Medical School of the University of California at Davis
Suspect classification
A. Strict Scrutiny
1. Used whenever there is a suspect classification
a. Discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin or a threat to a fundamental liberty
American with Disabilities Act of 1990
forbids discrimination of various sorts against persons with physical or mental handicaps. Its primary emphasis is on enabling these persons to enter the job market and remain employed, but it also outlaws most physical barriers in public accommodations, transportation, telecommunications, and government services. Among the protected class are persons with AIDS and substance abusers who are in treatment. Some 50 million current or potential workers are estimated to be covered by the law’s provisions. Studies suggest that the number of disabled persons entering the workforce has not improved significantly, and that a contributing factor may be their reluctance to lose
Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
Supreme Court ruled that state laws banning homosexual sodomy are unconstitutional as a violation of the right to privacy. The case began with the arrest of John Geddes Lawrence, a Houston resident, by the Houston Police, dispatched to Lawrence’s apartment complex in response to a reported weapons disturbance.
Types of judicial scrutiny (4 questions)
A. Strict Scrutiny
1. Used whenever there is a suspect classification
a. Discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin or a threat to a fundamental liberty
2. Established in Korematsu v. United States (1944)
3. Law must be “narrowly tailored”
4. In order to be upheld, must serve "compelling government interest"
5. The government has the burden of proof
6. Another case: Loving v. Virginia (1967)
7. Few laws survive strict scrutiny
B. Intermediate level scrutiny (aka heightened scrutiny)
1. Used whenever there is discrimination on the basis of sex & illegitimacy
2. Established in Craig v. Boren (1976)
3. Law must be "substantially related”
4. In order to be upheld, must serve "important government objective"
5. The government must have a burden of proof:
6. Another case: Rostker v. Goldberg (1980)
C. Rational basis test (aka ordinary scrutiny)
1. Used whenever there is discrimination on the basis of age, income, etc.
2. Not created by a Supreme Court case
3. Must be rational/reasonable
4. Must serve "legitimate" government objective
5. The person suing has the burden of proof
Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
a. Organized “Freedom Rides”
i. Purpose: use the media to draw attention to the fact that there was de facto segregation in interstate bus and rail stations in the South
a. One of their buses were burned down (outside Anniston, AL)
b. They experienced mob violence (Birmingham, AL)
i. Result: Interstate Commerce Commission made rules ending segregated transportation facilities
b. Worked with NAACP & SNCC for Freedom Summer
i. White college students from the North came to the South to help register blacks to vote
a. Gained a lot of national publicity
i. Led to the 1965 Voting Rights Act
a. Outlawed literacy tests
b. Allowed federal officials to register blacks in the South
c. Much later parts were added to the VRA
i. Section 5 requires that jurisdictions with a history of race discrimination in voting must get preapproval from the attorney general or federal district court before changing voting rules/procedures/practices
a. it’s called “preclearance”
c. Very successful legislation
i. Afterward, Southern politicians who had built their career on race baiting (i.e. George Wallace) began courting black voters
a. They showed up at black gatherings
b. Shook hands with African Americans
c. Kissed black babies
d. Talked about “unfortunate misunderstandings”
d. The VRA was reauthorized many times
i. In 2007 Section 4(B) was set to expire
a. Section 4 (B) which defines the jurisdictions which must get preclearance (9 states and many local governments)
b. Congress held 12 hearings (it produced 15,000 pages)
i. Senate voted 98-0 and the House voted 390-33 to extend it for another twenty-five years
ii. In Shelby (2012), the SC struck down Section 4 (B)
a. It de facto nullifies Section 5 because the latter applies only to jurisdictions covered under Section 4 (B)
b. legal reasoning: rests on old data (from 1960s and 1970s)
c. “ “ is an intrusion of state & local sovereignty to ask the attorney general to approve their election systems (i.e. preclearance)
Separate but equal doctrine
. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
a. “Separate but equal" doctrine
i. SC ruled that the doctrine didn't violate equal protection clause as long as the facilities were equal
a. In reality, allowed for separate facilities which were unequal
ii. The doctrine allows for Jim Crow laws (i.e. legalized segregation)
