Civil Rights law involves the protection of all humans to be free in their person and property from harm caused by others. In California, a defendant may be liable for violating your civil rights if they interfere or intend to interfere with your civil rights by threats, coercion, or intimidation. “The Bane Act permits an individual to pursue a civil action for damages where another person ‘interferes by threat, intimidation, or coercion, or attempts to interfere by threat, intimidation, or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any individual or individuals of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the rights secured by the Constitution or laws of this state.’ ‘The essence of a Bane Act claim is that the defendant, by the specified improper means (i.e., “threat[], intimidation or coercion”), tried to or did prevent the plaintiff from doing something he or she had the right to do under the law or to force the plaintiff to do something that he or she was not required to do under the law.’ ” (King v. State of California (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 265,294 [195 Cal.Rptr.3d 286], internal citation omitted.)
Other important civil rights protections include:
| Thirteenth Amendment | P.L. 38-11; 13 Stat. 567; P.L. 38-52 13 Stat. 774–775 |
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. Approved by the 38th Congress (1863–1865) as S.J. Res. 16; ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. |
| Civil Rights Act of 1866 | 14 Stat. 27–30 | Guaranteed the rights of all citizens to make and enforce contracts and to purchase, sell, or lease property. Passed by the 39th Congress (1865–1867) as S.R. 61. |
| Fourteenth Amendment | 14 Stat. 358–359 | Declared that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. were citizens and that any state that denied or abridged the voting rights of males over the age of 21 would be subject to proportional reductions in its representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Approved by the 39th Congress (1865–1867) as H.J. Res. 127; ratified by the states on July 9, 1868. |
| Fifteenth Amendment | P.L. 40-14; 15 Stat. 346 | Forbade any state to deprive a citizen of his vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Approved by the 40th Congress (1867–1869) as S.J. Res. 8; ratified by the states on February 3, 1870. |
