State action doctrine

Question 1

Thirteenth Amendment

Answer 1

It is the only constitutional protection of individual rights that applies directly private parties and individuals, although it is narrow in its focus.

Question 2

Fourteenth Amendment incorporation

Answer 2

All other protections of individual rights, if incorporated against the states, apply through the Fourteenth Amendment, which require state action.

Question 3

Significant involvement in private discrimination

Answer 3

The government cannot be significantly involved in private discrimination:

(1) It is prohibited from facilitating or profiting from private discrimination;
(2) It is prohibited from enforcing a private agreement to discriminate.

Question 4

Anti-discrimination statutes

Answer 4

Whereas state action is required to show a violation of the Constitution, it is irrelevant when considering liability under anti-discrimination statutes.

Question 5

Mutual public–private contacts

Answer 5

State action may exist if there are sufficient mutual contacts between the conduct of a private party and the government to find that the government is so pervasively entwined with the private entity that constitutional standards should apply to the private actor.

Question 6

Company town doctrine

Answer 6

State action is found when a private person carries on activities that are traditionally performed exclusively by the state, such as running primary elections or governing a “company town.”

Question 7

Private universities

Answer 7

Private universities that receive government funding are not state actors for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 8

Traditional and exclusive governmental functions

Answer 8

A private entity that performs a traditional and exclusive governmental function is a state actor for the purposes of free speech rights.