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July 5, 2024

Civil Rights vs Civil Liberties

Written by Pointer & Buelna, LLP. Lawyers For The People, reviewed by Adanté Pointer

Find out the difference between Civil Rights vs Civil Liberties. Civil liberties are protections against undue government interference or intrusive and inappropriate action: whereas, civil rights protect you against discrimination and similar action. In today’s world, knowing your rights, including your civil liberties, is the key to standing up against injustice. 

Whether you are facing discrimination or have been a victim of police brutality, knowledge is power. At Pointer & Buelna, LLP, our team of California civil rights lawyers is deeply passionate about empowering our clients and the community at large.

Civil Rights

Citizens’ legal rights to political and social freedom and equality derive from constitutional amendments and federal and state statutes prohibiting discrimination and unfair treatment by government entities and private parties. These rights are fundamental in shielding marginalized communities that face police brutality, racial profiling, and other forms of law enforcement misconduct.

Examples of Civil Rights

Civil rights are intended to protect all individuals from unfair and unequal treatment. Some examples include:

• Freedom from police brutality: Law enforcement officers are prohibited from using unnecessary force or otherwise breaking the law. People who have been victims of police brutality can seek justice through civil rights lawsuits and the criminal prosecution of the responsible officers.
• The right to vote: The Voting Rights Act and the California Voting Rights Act protect people from gerrymandering or discriminatory voter ID legislation that could dilute their votes or bar them altogether.
• Equal employment opportunity: Protection from discrimination at work under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which prevents discrimination based on race, sex, disability, or other protected characteristics.
• Access to public accommodation: Businesses and government agencies must ensure fair treatment in public spaces and services, such as access to concerts or hotels. This means offering everyone the same level of service regardless of whether they are Black or Hispanic, male or female, or disabled.
• Right to education free from discrimination: Schools and universities must provide equal access to education and cannot discriminate based on race, gender, or disability.
• Protections against housing discrimination: Landlords and property owners cannot refuse to rent or sell properties based on protected characteristics under the Fair Housing Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for Civil Rights Violations?

Public officials, law enforcement officers, employers, and private entities can commit civil rights violations. 42 U.S.C. § 1983: In instances of police brutality, the officers and their departments may be liable under the statute if they violated the constitutional rights of the victims.

Victims may pursue justice through:

• Filing a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department to report discrimination or misconduct.
• Filing a federal lawsuit under Section 1983: Police officers and government agencies can be held accountable for violating constitutional rights.
• Oversight agencies, such as the California Department of Justice, investigate systemic misconduct by police departments and hold them accountable.
• Civil rights groups like the ACLU or NAACP should be mobilized to lobby for policy amendments and legal overhauls to stop future abusive practices.

Civil Liberties

Civil liberties are basic freedoms protected from the government’s interference by the Bill of Rights and other constitutional amendments. Drawn primarily from the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments, these rights protect personal freedoms and due process.

Examples of Civil Liberties

• Freedom of speech and assembly: Citizens have the right to protest police wrongdoing, organize protests, and express themselves without interference from the state. There are some limits, though, such as on violent or illegal gatherings.
• Protection against wrongful searches and seizures: The Fourth Amendment prohibits law enforcement from unreasonable searches, taking property without justification, or using excessive force without probable cause. California has even more privacy laws that provide extra guardrails against surveillance abuses.
• Everyone must be given a fair trial: The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments ensure that an individual receives fair treatment in the judicial system and protects people from arbitrary arrest, a lack of counsel, and unfair trial processes. These protections are especially important in cases of wrongful arrest and excessive police force.
• The right to remain silent protects against self-incrimination while being interrogated by police. This protection is especially crucial given the nature of custodial interrogations, during which police officers may pressure suspects into giving confessions to those who don’t even know they are entitled to a legal defense.
• Freedom of the press: Journalists and news organizations should be able to report on police and government agencies without censorship or retaliation. This right plays a crucial role in ensuring transparency and accountability in instances of police misconduct.
• Right to privacy: California’s privacy laws are some of the strongest in the nation, shielding people from unauthorized government surveillance, data collection, and warrantless searches of personal electronic devices.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for Violations of Civil Liberties?

Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that protect an individual from government overreach, including violations by police officers, federal agencies, and state entities. Here are the legal pathways for victims of unlawful arrests, illegal searches, or police brutality in California:

• Submitting complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to trigger an investigation into wrongdoing and hold law enforcement accountable.
• Suing in state or federal court for violations of constitutional rights, seeking monetary damages and policy changes to prevent future abuses.
• Engaging advocacy groups like the ACLU of Northern & Southern California, which provide legal support, public awareness campaigns, and policy advocacy to challenge civil liberties violations.
• Challenging unconstitutional laws and policies through litigation, class-action lawsuits, and public advocacy efforts to overturn discriminatory or oppressive government practices.
• Seeking intervention from local or state oversight bodies, such as California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), which regulates police conduct and enforces accountability measures.

Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties: Know the Difference

To determine if something is a civil right or a civil liberty, you can ask What right is affected, and whose right is affected? Again, civil liberties protect individuals from undue government interference, ensuring fundamental rights and freedoms, while civil rights shield against discrimination based on protected characteristics. To summarize, civil liberties preserve your rights to free speech, fair trials, and so on. Civil rights shield against discrimination.

Civil Liberties: Protection from Government Interference

Civil liberties are fundamental rights and freedoms protected by the Constitution. These rights ensure that individuals are safe from undue government interference. Examples of civil liberties include the right to freedom of religion, free speech, the right to remain silent in a police interrogation, and freedom of the press.

One of the most well-known civil liberties is free speech, which is outlined in the First Amendment. This right allows people to safely express their thoughts and opinions without punishment or censorship. Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, afforded by the Fourth Amendment, is another important civil liberty. This safeguards people from intrusive or illegal searches that lack probable cause. 

Moreover, the right to a fair trial and due process of law, the right to vote, and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment are also some of your unalienable rights in the United States. On top of that, these liberties uphold justice and ensure an equitable society.

Civil Rights: Protection from Discrimination

As California civil rights attorneys, we get asked this question often—it is an important distinction. Civil rights ensure that all individuals are treated equally, regardless of their sexual orientation, disability, national origin, race, and gender. These protections are the foundation of American civil rights. 

Civil rights protect you in numerous settings, including at school, at work, applying for housing, and accessing public facilities. For example, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits gender discrimination in schools that receive federal funding. This means the girls swim team must receive the same funding as the boys swim team. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also prohibits job discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, and gender. 

Contact a California Civil Rights Lawyers To Seek Justice

If your civil rights have been violated, it is your American right to pursue justice. You may be entitled to financial compensation. At Pointer & Buelna, LLP, our passionate, skillful, dedicated California civil rights lawyers are ready to fight for you. We invite you to know more about what a Civil Rights Lawyer do, so you can choose with more information your possible legal representation. 

You have rights! To set up a free legal consultation or case review, contact our office today.