Courses 2008 - 2009

LAW A 548 Civil Rights

Credits: 2-6, Max 6

Analysis of the noncriminal statutes Congress has enacted to protect the civil rights of Americans. The course will first focus on statutes passed during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War, which lay dormant until revived by the Supreme Court a century later, that authorize the enforcement of federal constitutional rights (e.g., police brutality cases), including limitations on the liability of officials and government bodies. Beginning with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the course then will deal with recent substantive federal statutes concerning discrimination in housing, contracting, voting and public accommodations and discrimination by recipients of federal funds.