Civil Rights: Interest Groups Flashcards
US interest groups
In the US interest groups can protect rights by sponsoring civil rights cases which are brought before the Supreme Court. The Citizens United interest group sponsored the case over campaign financing in the 2010 Citizens United v FEC case.
Interest groups in the US can submit amicus curiae briefs to the courts where they look to influence the court on case rulings. In the 2003 Gratz v Bollinger and 2003 Grutter v Bollinger cases, supporters of the University of Michigan’s affirmative action admissions programme sent briefs to the court. In 2007 the NARAL Pro-Choice America pressure group submitted a briefing to the Supreme Court in the 2007 Gonzales v Carhart case on abortion.
UK interest groups
UK interest groups use the court to effectively uphold the rights of their members. Child Poverty Action Group brought a case against the Government to the High Court which challenged the two child limit which was introduced by the 2016 Welfare Reform and Work Act. Countryside Alliance contested a ban on fox hunting in the High Court.
Pressure groups lobby the courts in cases which rule on the infringement of the rights of certain groups. Pressure groups supported both sides in the 2016 Supreme Court case where a bakery owner in Northern Ireland was prosecuted for refusing to make a cake with the slogan supporting same-sex marriage because of his religious beliefs. The customer’s case was supported by gay rights interest groups whilst the bakery owner was supported by the Christian Institute.
