While constitutional rights are civil rights, not all civil rights are constitutional rights; likewise, not all civil rights are specifically labeled “civil rights” as in the case of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Have local courts violated your constitutional or civil rights?

In the United States, constitutional rights are those which are protected by the United States Constitution or one of 50 state constitutions; civil rights are those which are legally protected by any number of previously established laws.

Constitutional and civil rights violations are not uncommon; court accountability is extremely uncommon

Every day across the country, local courts violate citizens’ constitutional and civil rights in a disturbing variety of ways.

Because the United States was founded, at least in part, on the idea of democracy, we have a government system that umbrellas a large system of other government systems, and each of these systems has established a way to appeal court decisions. Otherwise, our judges would simply be kings or dictators, no?

Unfortunately, U.S. courts are still controlled, in large part, by wealth. If you are middle class, you simply do not have equal access to the courts; the mathematical logic of this equation should be enough to explain. If you are lower class- that is, in legal poverty, you at least have some access to the courts due to the existence of fee waiver motions– but of course, you probably lack the resources, quite possibly also including the education, to understand how to access the courts (and chances are, your public defender will defend the court, not you).

For example, it costs around $300 to simply file an appeal form with a government court office (where the court will likely claim it is “not associated with the government because it is a court” …which is also a lie).

Despite all the constitutional and civil rights violations nationwide, local courts generally get away with a disturbing number of human rights injustices. From cruel and unusual punishment to religious persecution to daily hate crimes and more, the courts have been enjoying what they have come to believe is free reign for a very long time.

Different avenues exist to protect the Constitution and other civil rights in the United States

Although successful appeals are uncommon, that does not mean they have to continue to be. Depending on your situation, there are several legal paths to take to hold abusive courts and other law officers accountable.

If, for example, your constitutional rights have been violated, you may be able to file a federal lawsuit under Section 1983 of the U.S. Code. With civil rights violations like common Americans with Disabilities Act discrimination, you may be able to file a federal lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice. Of course, teaming up with others who have been similarly abused by the court systems can also be helpful when it comes to solutions like joining others’ existing lawsuits, but it can sometimes be much more effective to sue local judges and their offices for violating bonds and constitutional obligations.