Civil Rights

• Agencies
  • U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
    Complaint referral service which directs people to the appropriate agency/office for their complaint; offers advice on Getting Uncle Sam to Enforce Your Rights. Includes publications concerning civil rights and education, employment, housing, immigration, voting, etc.
  • U.S. Dept. of Justice, Civil Rights Division
    Provides answers to frequently asked questions about discrimination, cases & briefs filed by the Division, and information about discrimination-related topics. Access various Division sections such as: Criminal, Disability Rights, Educational Opportunities, Employment Litigation, Housing & Civil Enforcement, Voting, etc.
• Civil Rights (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
  Commentary with links to the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, regulations & opinions.
• Civil Rights Bureau (WI Dept. of Workforce Development)
  Programs & information on discrimination in employment, housing, and post secondary education; discrimination by public places of accommodation or amusement; the Family Medical Leave Act; harassment in the workplace; retaliation protection for reporting or filing a complaint or for reporting violations.
• Constitutional Amendments
  • 1st
    • First Amendment (American Library Association)
      Notable First Amendment Court Cases arranged by topic. Includes cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, other federal courts & state supreme courts. Each entry provides a case citation & brief synopsis. Site also includes links to other first amendment resources & advocates.
    • First Amendment (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
      Commentary with links to U.S. Constitution 1st & 14th amendments and federal opinions.
    • First Amendment Library
      Includes all U.S. Supreme Court opinions involving the First Amendment. Search by case name, year, or topic. Access court documents & related materials from the 2000-2001 Supreme Court term to the present, including: status of petition, briefs, oral arguments, lower court opinions, news, analysis, etc. Also access Congressional Research Service Reports on the First Amendment.
    • 1st Amendment Online (Univ. of Minnesota Law School)
      Collection of documents on court cases concerning the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  Includes cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, links to the most recent decade's Supreme Court decisions involving the First Amendment, summaries of notable federal cases, and full-text of classic Supreme Court decisions.  Also includes primary sources from court cases, historical source materials, and public opinion polls.
    • Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
      Nonprofit which provides free legal assistance to journalists. Website also provides access to news releases on civil liberties and the press.
    • Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression
    • Wall of Separation [Between Church and State] (Library of Congress)
      Commentary on Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists in which he used the now-famous phrase "separation between Church & State."
  • 13th
    • Thirteenth Amendment: Slavery and Involuntary Servitude
  • 14th
    • Equal Protection (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
      Commentary with links to U.S. Constitution 14th amendment and federal opinions.
    • 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights
      The 14th amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to former slaves.  View images of the document and learn more about this amendment.
    • Fourteenth Amendment: Rights Guaranteed Privileges and Immunities of Citizenship, Due Process and Equal Protection
• Court Decisions (for more decisions, see specific amendments listed above)
  • Landmark Supreme Court Cases
    List of landmark civil rights decisions involving religion, freedom of expression, private property, personal liberty, etc. Provides case names and annotations.
  • U.S. Supreme Court Landmark Decisions, 1856-1955 (Findlaw)
    Full-text opinions & historical information related to landmark U.S. Supreme Court civil rights cases
• Discrimination (Lawyers.com)
  Topics include: Housing Discrimination, Disability Accommodation, Education Discrimination, Voting Rights, Criminal Rights Violations.
• History
  • Historical Publications of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (Thurgood Marshall Law Library)
    Locate publications by title, date or subjects such as ADA, education, election law, employment, hate crime, housing, immigration, law enforcement, migrant workers, minority owned businesses, etc.
• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
  Founded in 1963, the Committee is dedicated to protecting the rights of the poor and racial minorities. Sites provides information on voting rights, employment rights, education and housing, hate crimes, etc

The Law (Additional statutes, regulations & opinions may apply to your specific situation.)

• WI Constitution
• WI Admin. Code: DWD 218-225 "Civil Rights"
• U.S. Constitution
• U.S. Code: 18 USC 241-248 "Civil Rights"
• U.S. Code: 42 USC 1981-2000 "Civil Rights"
• CFR: 45 CFR 701-708 "Commission on Civil Rights"

Search for more statutes, regulations & opinions

Last Updated: December 30, 2009 | Up to Top