Civil Rights

Unlike civil liberties, a civil right is enacted and protected through legislation, wherein any violation warrants and gives cause for action in both civil and criminal proceedings. Examples of civil rights include the freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly, the freedom from involuntary servitude, and many others.

In the United States, the Thirteenth Amendment (1865), the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) marked the beginnings of enforceable civil rights law. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and gave the right of citizenship to exslaves and anyone born in the United States. This monumental step was betrayed by the “black codes” enacted in many states during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. Congress then passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which was a prelude to the Fourteenth Amendment, passed to override the black codes. However, though civil rights suits were brought to court, civil rights jurisprudence failed to flourish until Monroe v. Pape (1961) in the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren. Monroe v. Pape (1961) held police officers, but not municipalities (Chicago, in this case), accountable for an unreasonable search under the Civil Rights Act of 1871. The cause for action sought to show that individual rights, though safeguarding citizens from the nation, only gave actionable cause against states when the nation should also be held accountable. Arguably, Monroe grounded civil rights litigation in the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause, paving the way for civil rights jurisprudence. It was not until Monell v. Department of Social Services (1978) that the Supreme Court made municipalities liable for the actions of their officers. For more information, see Monell v. Department of Social Services (1978), Monroe v. Pape (1961), and Weinberg (1991).