Sunday, November 26, 2006

Do Italian Americans have ANY Civil Rights??: An Overview

The ANNOTICO Report

An Open Letter to NIAF, OSIA, and UNICO,                                                                                                                  

An Informational Copy to Ted Grippo of Grippo & Elden, of Chicago, the chief campaigners against "The Sopranos" and  "Fuggedaboudit".

I fully understand the Extreme Reluctance of Courts to engage in the Stifling of Free Speech in the form of Prior Restraint as in TROs (Temporary Restraining Orders) or Injunctions, and I was duly pessimistic as to the Attempt to do so.

But, Why are we not pursuing a Law Suit for Damages????    Is it what you consider a weak Legal Basis, or a lack of Funds ???

Let me pursue the Legal Basis. Does the Italian American Community have recourse under the 14th Amendment, regarding the equal protection of the laws. Are there not Federal laws in effect that prevent the Defaming or Negative Stereotyping of any Racial, Religious, or Ethnic Group by EITHER  Individuals, Organizations/ Businesses, or State action? Is there Not an arbitrary and selective application of those laws????

In this Batavia School  "Fuggedaboudit" Case,

(1) is this Not the STATE Board of Education involved as an arm of State Government?  and also,                             

(2) are not Schools and Colleges SPECIFICALLY singled out in the 1964 Act to be Non Discriminatory? and      

(3) the Illinois Constitution, Article 1, Section 20, provides: Individual Dignity.  To promote individual dignity, communications that portray criminality, depravity or l! ack of virtue in,... a...group of persons by reason of or by reference to religious, racial, ethnic, national or regional affiliation are condemned.    

(4)  is there not a HostileWork/Learning Environment ?? 

(5) Harassment, in gender cases has been proved merely by posting of Nude Photos

So, is there Not basis on both a Federal and State Basis to pursue Damages against the School District, and the successive Bureaucratic levels upward, all the way to the Illinois State Board of Education, and even the Federal Dep't of Education, to not only have Regulations instituted to Prevent a Reoccurrence, But also to Institute a Remedial Program to counter balance the effects of Media onslaught on School Kids?

Yes, I know that this is a matter that Italian American Lawyer Organizations throughout the Country SHOULD be addressing, but  they are too busy looking after the advancing of their own careers, by networking for business, or getting elected to a Judgeship, or being close to those who are elected Judges, to curry favor. Sad!

What is the Appropriate and Most Effective Action, ignoring the practicalities of Cost for the moment??????

 

Civil Rights: an Overview

A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury. Examples of civil rights are freedom of speech, press, assembly, the right to vote, freedom from involuntary servitude, and the right to equality in public places.

Discrimination occurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of their membership in a particular group or class. Statutes have been enacted to prevent discrimination based on a persons race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin and in some instances sexual preference.

The most important expansion of civil rights in the United States was the enactment of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States....  In 1868 the 14th Amendment was passed to counter the "black codes" and ensure that no state "shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the citizens of the United States . . . [or] deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, [or] deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Congress was also given the power by section five of the Fourteenth Amendment to pass any laws needed for its enforcement.

During the "reconstruction era" that followed Congress enacted numerous civil rights statutes. Many of these statutes are still in force today and protect individuals from discrimination and from the deprivation of their civil rights. [However those statutes dealt mainly with actions of the STATE.]

The most prominent civil rights legislation since reconstruction is the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that extended the protection from Discrimination of INDIVIDUALS using  the Congressional Powers relating to Interstate Commerce and Public Establishments that had a Connection to or was Supported by the State. Public establishments include places of public accommodation (e.g., hotels, motels, trailer parks), restaurants, gas stations, bars, taverns, and places of entertainment in general. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation also declared a strong legislative policy against discrimination in public schools and colleges which aided in desegregation. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs.

The judiciary, most notably the Supreme Court, plays a crucial role in interpreting the extent of the civil rights, and the federal courts were/are crucial in mandating and supervising school desegregation programs and other programs established to rectify state or local discrimination.

State constitutions, statutes and municipal ordinances provide further protection of civil rights.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/

index.php/Civil_rights

 

The ANNOTICO Reports

Can be Viewed, and are Archived at:

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