POLI 2051 Chapter : 4 10 14 Civil Rights
Document Summary
Civil rights: policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals. The first and only place that the idea of equality appears in the constitution is in the 14th amendment where it forbids the states from denying to anyone. The sc has developed three levels of scrutiny: most classifications only have to be reasonable, and deference is given to rule makers. The burden of proof is on those who challenge the law to demonstrate that classifications are not reasonable (but instead are arbitrary): gender classifications receive intermediate scrutiny. The burden of proof is on the government to demonstrate this. Many groups have had to struggle for equality; african americans are the largest and most visible of the minority groups. Dred scott v. sanford (1857): basically states that african americans were not citizens and the federal government had no authority to regulate or ban slavery in the territories.
