And justice for all : the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the continuing struggle for freedom in America-book

America's Gun Wars contends that an understanding of America's gun controversy cannot be found in statistics documenting the rise (or fall) of violent crime, or in examining trade-offs between societal needs and personal safety, or in following the political maneuvering of advocacy groups such as the National Rifle Association or Everytown for Gun Safety. At heart, the gun controversy is a values conflict involving how people see themselves and how they make sense of the world they live in. Understanding this controversy requires a deep analysis of the profoundly different cultures inhabited by pro- and anti-gun activists, lawmakers, and voters. Written by a social scientist who has spent his life exploring how values and self-perceptions impact behavior, this book explores the origins and evolution of cultures in American society; the beliefs, experiences, and principles that guide the behavior of members in both camps; and the triumphs and failures that the two sides have experienced from colonial times to the present day. --

Patricia Williams is a lawyer and a professor of commercial law, the great-great-granddaughter of a slave and a white southern lawyer. The Alchemy of Race and Rights is an eloquent autobiographical essay in which the author reflects on the intersection of race, gender, and class. Using the tools of critical literary and legal theory, she sets out her views of contemporary popular culture and current events, from Howard Beach to homelessness, from Tawana Brawley to the law-school classroom, from civil rights to Oprah Winfrey, from Bernhard Goetz to Mary Beth Whitehead. She also traces the workings of "ordinary racism"--everyday occurrences, casual, unintended, banal perhaps, but mortifying. Taking up the metaphor of alchemy, Williams casts the law as a mythological text in which the powers of commerce and the Constitution, wealth and poverty, sanity and insanity, wage war across complex and overlapping boundaries of discourse. In deliberately transgressing such boundaries, she pursues a path toward racial justice that is, ultimately, transformative. Williams gets to the roots of racism not by finger-pointing but by much gentler methods. Her book is full of anecdote and witness, vivid characters known and observed, trenchant analysis of the law's shortcomings. Only by such an inquiry and such patient phenomenology can we understand racism. The book is deeply moving and not so, finally, just because racism is wrong--we all know that. What we don't know is how to unthink the process that allows racism to persist. This Williams enables us to see. The result is a testament of considerable beauty, a triumph of moral tactfulness. The result, as the title suggests, is magic.

"Unknown to many, Alabama has played a remarkable role in a number of Supreme Court rulings that continue to touch the lives of every American. In Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces That Changed a Nation, Steven P. Brown has identified eight landmark cases that deal with religion, voting rights, libel, gender discrimination, and other issues, all originating from legal disputes in Alabama. Written in a concise and accessible manner, each case law chapter begins with the circumstances that created the dispute. Brown then provides historical and constitutional background for the issue followed by a review of the path of litigation. Excerpts from the Court's ruling in the case are also presented, along with a brief account of the aftermath and significance of the decision. The First Amendment (New York Times v. Sullivan), racial redistricting (Gomillion v. Lightfoot), the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (Frontiero v. Richardson), and prayer in public schools (Wallace v. Jaffree) are among the pivotal issues stamped indelibly by disputes with their origins in Alabama legal, political, and cultural landscapes. In addition to his analysis of cases, Brown discusses the three associate justices sent from Alabama to the Supreme Court-John McKinley, John Archibald Campbell, and Hugo Black-whose cumulative influence on the institution of the Court, constitutional interpretation, and the day-to-day rights and liberties enjoyed by every American is impossible to measure. A closing chapter examines the careers and contributions of these three Alabamians"--

The amendment that refused to die : equality and justice deferred : the history of the Fourteenth Amendment-book

"This bill prohibits no-knock warrants, which generally permit law enforcement officers to enter a premises without first identifying their authority and purpose."

" Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin who was previously convicted of murdering George Floyd pleaded not guilty on Thursday to violating a Black teen's civil rights in 2017. "

"Calling it a "moral mandate" Washington Gov. Jay Inslee a Democrat signed a dozen bills into law on Tuesday that backers hope will improve policing in the state reduce the use of deadly force and ensure that when deadly encounters do occur the investigations are thorough and independent."

"The Monell Rule is the most important racial justice issue you've never heard of."

"City council voted to override Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's recent veto of cuts to the police department's remaining 2020 budget by a 7-2 vote with the mayor issuing a statement after the fact indicating she might not adhere to all of the provisos laid out in the council's proposal."

"The Louisville Kentucky metro council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance called "Breonna's Law" on Thursday banning no-knock search warrants in wake of Breonna Taylor's death."

"New York legislators passed a package of bills providing for comprehensive police reform and Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he intends to sign them all quickly."

"A Minneapolis commission decided Wednesday to take more time to review a City Council amendment to dismantle the Police Department in the wake of George Floyd's death ending the possibility of voters deciding the issue in November."

"Bill would dismantle police officer immunity against lawsuits."

"Dozens of protesters sued Chicago's police chief and several officers on Thursday in federal court accusing them of brutal attacks and false arrests during social justice demonstrations this summer."

"Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday used the final hours of the general assembly's lame duck session to pass a sweeping and controversial criminal justice reform bill that would eliminate cash bail make it easier to ban officers from working at police departments across the state and allow for anonymous complaints against cops."

"Illinois could soon become the first state to bar police from lying to minors during interrogations a tactic advocates say significantly increases the risk of false confessions."

"The Florida Senate gave final approval Thursday to law enforcement reform legislation born in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer nearly one year ago."

" grand jury in Texas on Tuesday cleared eight former officers of any criminal wrongdoing in the death of a 26-year-old Black man in custody."

"Congress was at a standstill on police reform on Wednesday after Senate Democrats successfully blocked a Republican bill criticized as a toothless response to police brutality. The vote was 55-45 failing to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance. Two Democrats the Alabama senator Doug Jones and the West Virginia senator Joe Manchin along with Angus King of Maine an independent who caucuses with Democrats voted with Republicans to open the debate."

"Colorado passed a sweeping police reform bill on Friday that among other reforms bans chokeholds and makes officers personally liable if they are found guilty of violating a person's civil rights. Colorado is one of the first states that will allow police officers to be financially liable for civil misconduct suits according to the state's ACLU. "

"Colorado's attorney general on Friday convened a grand jury probe into the death of Elijah McClain a young unarmed Black man placed in a chokehold and injected with the powerful sedative ketamine while under arrest."

"Louisville's city government has announced plans to review the handling by the mayor's administration of the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. The Louisville Metro Council's government oversight committee which has subpoena powers announced its intentions Monday news outlets reported. The council's next meeting is scheduled for July 23."

"Oregon is the second state to pass a bill banning police from using deceptive interrogation tactics following Illinois."

"The House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee approved the bill as amended on a party-line 10-7 vote Friday and sent it to the House Floor. There is no Senate companion"

"The state Senate early Wednesday voted to approve a comprehensive police accountability bill that was drafted in the wake of protests spurred by the police killings of Black Americans including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville."

"Colorado passed a sweeping police reform bill [...] among other reforms bans chokeholds and makes officers personally liable if they are found guilty of violating a person's civil rights." Li Cohen CBS News

"SB 2 creates a system to investigate and revoke or suspend peace officer certification for serious misconduct SB 16 increases transparency over peace officer misconduct records The Governor also signed legislation strengthening policing responsibility and accountability guidelines raising eligibility standards and banning harmful techniques"

"The Senate Majority will advance a major policing reforms legislative package which includes the repeal of 50-a and other important bills to help implement real improvements to law enforcement efforts in New York. Last year a public hearing was held to examine the repeal of section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law as part of the Senate Majority's ongoing commitment to reforming the justice system. Recent national events surrounding the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have highlighted the immediate need for these reforms. The implementation of these policing reforms will help the healing process for minority communities that have been disproportionately targeted and will facilitate better partnerships between law enforcement and the New Yorkers they serve."

"Recent reporting suggests that lawmakers across the country are ending a long-standing legal protection for police officers but that isn't quite true."