| The Right to Education |
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| Contrary to popular belief, the right to a free public education is not among those rights specifically listed in the United States Constitution. Put another way, the Constitution does not require a state to provide free public education to its residents. Instead, a right to a free public education must be enumerated in a state's constitution. Nearly every state's constitution has a provision for free public education. These states have enacted laws with the purpose of providing equal access to a quality education to all resident students.
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| Disparate Treatment in the Employment of the Disabled |
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| Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of an employee or a job applicant's disability. Specifically, the ADA protects a "qualified individual with a disability." In considering a disparate treatment claim by an employee with a disability, courts seek to determine whether the disabled employee was treated less favorably than other employees who were not disabled. More... |
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| Voter Intimidation |
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| Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, obvious methods of voter discrimination were replaced by subtler--but arguably more effective--tactics meant to "disenfranchise" minority voters through intimidation. Although historically limited to African-American voters, incidents of voter intimidation are now being reported with greater frequency in Latino communities. Voter intimidation occurs when individual voters or, more likely, a group of voters decide not to vote because they have been threatened or mislead. For example, minority citizens who are eligible to register to vote may be given incorrect information about registration requirements. Voters may be confused or harassed to the point that they do not wish to appear at the polling places.
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| Internet surveillance provision of USA PATRIOT Act |
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| A federal court has ruled that the surveillance provision of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) was unconstitutionally broad. In striking down § 505, the federal judge said that while national security was of "paramount value," personal security was equal in importance. The judge held that § 505 was violative of the First Amendment because § 505's permanent ban on disclosure of the request was an impermissible "prior restraint" on free speech. Additionally, the surveillance provision violated the Constitution because it gave "unchecked powers" to obtain private information. Furthermore, it violated the Constitution's prohibitions against unreasonable searches.
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| Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Housing |
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| The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits intentional discrimination in the rental, sale, and financing of housing due to a prospective renter or buyer's race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, or family status. The term "sexual orientation" is not among those traits protected by the Fair Housing Act. As a result, the Fair Housing Act does not offer protection against sexual orientation discrimination.
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