CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES LAW GUIDE

This guide was prepared for students working in the Suffolk University Law School Pro Bono Program although some of the resources may be useful to others doing civil rights and liberties law research.

Outline

Introduction	Finding Resources
Secondary Sources	Primary Sources
General Treatises Massachusetts Treatises Massachusetts Web Pages Federal Web Pages	Massachusetts Statutes Federal Statutes

Introduction

Civil Rights and Liberties law covers many areas including the right to be free from unequal treatment based upon race, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age and the basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed in the Constituion and Bill of Rights, as interpreted by the courts and laws. This guide introduces some important resources for civil rights and liberties law and information on how to find additional materials particular to the legal problem you are researching. Where appropriate this guide links to other guides prepared for the Suffolk University Law School Pro Bono Program or by the Moakley Law Library.

Finding Resources

Moakley Law Library Catalog
The best search to run in the law library catalog is a keyword search.

Research Databases
The library has many databases available to current law students, faculty, and staff. Some of the BNA databases relevant to civil rights and liberties law include the Employment Discrimination Report, U.S. Law Week, and the Social Law Library's Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination decisions.

For additional information on finding general resources, see the Pro Bono Program General Resources Guide

Secondary Sources of Law

General Treatises

Civil Rights Actions / Joseph G. Cook
5th Floor Treatises KF4749 .C85
Available on LexisNexis (login and password required)

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation: The Law of Section 1983 / Sheldon H. Mahmod
5th Floor Treatises KF1325 .C58 N342.

Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment / Wayne R. LaFave
Law Reserve KF9630 .L26
Available on Westlaw (login and password required)

Treatise on Constitutional Law / Ronald D. Rotunda
5th Floor Treatises KF4550 .R63
Available on Westlaw (login and password required)

Criminal Procedure / Wayne R. LaFave
Law Reserve KF9619 .L34
Available on Westlaw (login and password required)

Employment Discrimination / Lex K. Larson
5th Floor Treatises KF3464 .L37
Available on LexisNexis (login and password required)

Massachusetts Treatises

Hot Topics in Employment Discrimination Law / Allison Kaplan Romantz
Law Reserve KFM2734.4 D5 H69. MCLE, 2008

Employment Discrimination in Massachusetts / Richard R. Alfred
Law Reserve KFM2734.5 D5 E48. MCLE, 2008

Representing Clients Before teh MCAD in Employment Cases / Mark W. Batten
Law Reserve KFM2734.5 D5 M67. MCLE 2007

MCAD Mock Trial: Race and Sex Discrimination and Retaliation / Ellen J. Messing
Law Reserve KFM2734.5 D5 M63. MCLE, 2000

MDLR/Massachusetts Discrimination Law Reporter
Law Reading Room Floor 5 KFM2811 .A53 M45
Available from the Law Library Research Databases: Social Law Library Massachusetts Admdinistrative Law Library: Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
MCAD Decisions

Legal Rights of Individuals with Disabilities / Stanley J. Eichner and Christine M. Griffin, Editors
Law Reserve KFM2491 .H3 L44. MCLE, 2002.

Massachusetts Superior Court Criminal Practice Manual / Hon. Robert H. Bohn, Jr., editor
Law Reserve KFM2975 .M386. MCLE, 1999.

Massachusetts Superior Court Criminal Practice Forms / Hon. Robert H. Bohn, Jr., editor
Law Reserve KFM2975 .M3757. MCLE, 1999.

Massachusetts District Court Criminal Defense Manual / Cathleen L. Bennett, et al, editors
Law Reserve KFM2975 .M383,. MCLE, 2008.

Criminal Practice and Procedure / Kent B. Smith
Vols. 30-30B, Mass. Prac. Ser. Thomson/West 2007.

Legal Tactics: Tenants' Rights in Massachusetts Private Housing / editor, Annette R. Duke; authors, Dick Bauer ... [et al.]  

Law Reserve KFM2517.Z9 L44 2008

Available online at: http://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/legal-tactics1

Legal Tactics: Finding Public and Subsidized Housing, Public Housing / editors, Amy E. Cooperman & Annette R. Duke
Law Reserve KFM2860.L44 2006

Massachusetts Web Pages

Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, Division of Civil Rights

Massachusetts Trial Court Libraries:

http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/index.html

The Massachusetts Trial Court Libraries have guides in many areas of law that include online resources, links to forms, and other helpful sources. The following guides cover a number of areas of interest:

• Discrimination
  http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/discrimination.html
• Gay Marriage
  http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/gaymarriage.html
• Privacy
  http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/privacy.html
• Same-Sex Marriage
  http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/gaymarriage.html

Mass Legal Help - Housing

http://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing

This web site includes self-help forms, sample letters, booklets, handbooks, and a FAQ section.

National Lawyers Guild, Massachusetts Chapter
http://www.nlgmass.org/

American Civil Liberties Union, of Massachusetts
http://www.aclum.org/

Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
http://www.glad.org/

Federal Web Pages

U.S. Department of Justice: Civil Rights Division
http://www.justice.gov/crt/crim/overview.php

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html

EEOC: Facts About Race/Color Discrimination
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-race.html

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Housing Discrimination
http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/topics/housing_discrimination

Primary Sources of Law

Links to Massachusetts and Federal statutes are to free sources of law. These sources may not be updated frequently and are unannotated.

Massachusetts Constitution & Statutes

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
http://www.mass.gov/legis/const.htm

Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, M.G.L. Chap. 12 Sec. 11H-11J
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/12/12-11h.htm

Violation of Equal Rights, M.G.L. Chap. 93, Sec. 102 and 103
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/93-102.htmhttp://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/93-103.htm

Discrimination in Employment, M.G.L. Chap. 151B Sec. 1-10
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/gl-151b-toc.htm

Federal Constitution & Statutes

U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights
http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution

Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000a through 200a-6
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode42/usc_sec_42_00002000---a000-.html

Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights, Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode42/usc_sec_42_00001983----000-.html

Equal Employment Opportunities, Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/usc_sup_01_42_10_21_20_VI.html

Employment Discrimination: An Overview (Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute [LII])
http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/employment_discrimination

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, As Amended, Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101, et seq.
http://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm

The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601-3631 (prohibits discrimination in housing rentals)

42 U.S.C. 1404a-1440 (Low Income Housing)

 

*Note: Westlaw and Lexis are subscription databases with limited availability. Other databases or resources may only be available to members of the Suffolk community or from computers at the Law Library.

 

If you have questions or comments, please email: Ellen V. Delaney, Reference Librarian.

Created: June 18, 2010. Last Updated May 4, 2012.