The course starts with the
structure of civil rights laws and the various sources of those protections.
We’ll look at constitutional rights and federal and state civil rights laws.
The second module focuses on
equal protection. We’ll look at the history of the equal protection clause and
its passage in the wake of the civil war. We’ll look at landmark Supreme Court
cases and the standards under which alleged equal protection violations are judged.
We’ll also look at the interesting case of “benign” discrimination in the form
of affirmative action programs.
Our third module looks at due
process. We’ll focus both on procedural due process, which looks at whether the
government gave a person a fair opportunity to defend before a deprivation of
life, liberty or property, and substantive due process, which ensures that
government cannot legislatively deprive people of rights without adequate
justification.
Module 4 discusses religious
discrimination, including a look at the establishment and free exercise clauses
of the First Amendment. We’ll also look at federal laws that try to protect
religious freedom, such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and the long lines of
cases those acts have spawned. Finally, we’ll look at accommodations and
exceptions from the law that governments must make to accommodate religious
freedom.
The last module turns to the
practical side of things by discussing federal and state causes of action to
vindicate civil rights. We’ll look at federal “Section 1983” actions and
comparable state lawsuits. We’ll also focus on the roles of states in
protecting civil rights.
By the end of this course,
we’re confident that you’ll have a clearer picture of the framework in which
our governments and court systems seek to protect our civil rights.
Best of luck and we welcome
your feedback.
GOV-201: Civil Rights Law