Civil Rights Movements & the Law

"Many admit the recent confirmation of California's new Attorney General Rob Bonta proves there is a place for Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) representation across all levels of government."

"Recent reporting suggests that lawmakers across the country are ending a long-standing legal protection for police officers but that isn't quite true."

"Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act which required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. In 1892 Homer Plessy – who was seven-eighths Caucasian – agreed to participate in a test to challenge the Act. He was solicited by the Comite des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens) a group of New Orleans residents who sought to repeal the Act. They asked Plessy who was technically black under Louisiana law to sit in a "whites only" car of a Louisiana train."

"Limits authority of school district to become member of voluntary organization that administers interscholastic activities unless organization implements policy that prohibits discrimination based on race color or national origin. Clarifies meaning of race to include natural hair hair texture hair type and protective hairstyles for purposes of prohibited discrimination under antidiscrimination statutes. Clarifies that valid dress code or policy may not have disproportionate adverse impact on members of protected class to extent that is greater than impact on persons generally."

"The state Senate early Wednesday voted to approve a comprehensive police accountability bill that was drafted in the wake of protests spurred by the police killings of Black Americans including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville."

"Colorado passed a sweeping police reform bill [...] among other reforms bans chokeholds and makes officers personally liable if they are found guilty of violating a person's civil rights." Li Cohen CBS News

"This case was the consolidation of cases arising in Kansas South Carolina Virginia Delaware and Washington D.C. relating to the segregation of public schools on the basis of race. In each of the cases African American students had been denied admittance to certain public schools based on laws allowing public education to be segregated by race. They argued that such segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiffs were denied relief in the lower courts based on Plessy v. Ferguson which held that racially segregated public facilities were legal so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal.

"The House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee approved the bill as amended on a party-line 10-7 vote Friday and sent it to the House Floor. There is no Senate companion"

"SB 2 creates a system to investigate and revoke or suspend peace officer certification for serious misconduct SB 16 increases transparency over peace officer misconduct records The Governor also signed legislation strengthening policing responsibility and accountability guidelines raising eligibility standards and banning harmful techniques"

Addressing unlawful detainment and interference of press and ACLU and National Lawyer Guild neutral observers from doing their jobs.

"Police officers are given wide latitude to stop and detain suspects since they're entrusted with the enforcement power of the law. When an officer orders you to "freeze" or submit to a search it's generally in your best interests to do so. But this doesn't mean they're above the law as police misconduct -- whether it's blatant racial profiling or the use of excessive force -- is strictly illegal. If an Arizona officer has violated your civil rights you may want to pursue a claim in civil court. Police misconduct runs the gamut from unlawful search and seizure (in violation of the Fourth Amendment) to planting false evidence on a suspect. And while police are protected by "qualified immunity" as long as their actions don't violate specific individual rights you have legal options in the event they do in fact violate your rights."

"In a unanimous vote the Louisville Metro Council has banned the use of 'No-Knock'warrants after passing Breonn's Law an ordinance which also sets guidelines for the execution of all search warrants by Louisville Metro Police officers and requires active body camera whenever a warrant is served."

"US District Court for the Northern District of California - 584 F. Supp. 1406 (N.D. Cal. 1984) April 19 1984"

"This week a federal judge reluctantly concluded the officer should benefit from qualified immunity a legal doctrine that shields law enforcement from many claims of wrongdoing on the job." Carrie Johnson NPR

Filed in federal court primarily in regards to the excessive force and use of tear gas in the midst of a global pandemic.

"The 2020 elections may be over but the Supreme Court will soon hear oral argument in a pair of voting-rights cases from one of last year's key battleground states and the eventual outcome may determine how courts will assess allegedly discriminatory voting rules for years to come."

"Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. It is also known as Emancipation Day Juneteenth Independence Day and Black Independence Day. On June 19 1865 Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston TX and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation came 2 years earlier on January 1, 1863 many slave owners continued to hold their slaves captive after the announcement so Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African American freedom. This fact sheet assists congressional offices with work related to Juneteenth. It contains sample speeches and remarks from the Congressional Record presidential proclamations and remarks and selected historical and cultural resources."

"In May and June 2020 protests erupted nationwide after the publication of video footage of a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd leading to his death. That incident and its aftermath have sparked heightened interest in Congress' ability to implement reforms of state and local law enforcement."

"Nationwide protests in response to the publication of video footage of a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd leading to his death have generated renewed interest in the issue of reforming the policing practices of state and local officials. As discussed in more detail in this companion sidebar several existing federal laws seek to prevent and redress constitutional violations by state and local law enforcement officials. However because the Constitution generally grants states the authority to regulate issues of local concern—which includes policing and criminal law—Congress is limited in its ability to legislate on matters related to state and local law enforcement—limits that may inform any new laws Congress seeks to enact on this evolving issue. This Sidebar begins with an overview of Congress’s authority to enact legislation and the limits on those powers. It then discusses in more detail two of the enumerated powers—congressional powers that are found within the Constitution—that may be most relevant when Congress legislates on matters relating to state and local law enforcement."

"This bill makes lynching a federal hate crime offense."

"Amid a rash of violent incidents aimed at Asian Americans Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) on Tuesday spoke about the racism and xenophobia his family has personally experienced and said he has never felt this level of fear before in his life."

"The barbed debate over racial justice is exploding this week on Capitol Hill, as Democrats in both chambers are charging ahead with a host of proposals to empower minorities amid the national clash over police bias, brutality and the future of law enforcement."

"Lawmakers and experts called for shifting public rhetoric surrounding Covid-19 and foreign policy and passing hate crime legislation to address discrimination and violence against Asian Americans in a House panel Thursday."

"Readers are moved by an Op-Ed piece he wrote days before his death urging people to 'tand up for what you truly believe.'''

"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N.Y. took to the House floor Thursday morning to admonish the insults hurled at her by Rep. Ted Yoho R-Fla. earlier this week."

"The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to remove all Confederate statues from public display in the U.S. Capitol along with replacing the bust of former Chief Justice of the United States Roger Taney author of the 1857 Dred Scott decision that declared that people of African descent were not U.S. citizens."

"The House fell short of passing legislation on Monday that would prohibit discrimination against people with hair styles associated with a particular race or national origin."

"Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday was grilled by lawmakers on national security voting rights and the border during his first appearance on Capitol Hill since being sworn in as the nation's top law enforcement officer."

"On Sunday Rep. Justin Amash announced plans to introduce the Ending Qualified Immunity Act. Qualified immunity shields police officers from civil liability for violating a civilian's constitutional rights in most circumstances. Reforming it is an important step toward holding law enforcement accountable for abuse of power. But Congress must also act to address the less-well-known but equally pernicious rules governing municipal liability. It's time to hold local governments accountable for police violence."

"A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday started talks on a police reform bill the day after Democratic President Joe Biden urged senators and representatives to act before the May 25 anniversary of George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis policeman."