TOPICS IN TEXAS & AMERICAN POLITICS:
CIVIL RIGHTS 2009
Professor: Dr. Richard Gambitta
Political Science 1213 §§ 001 & 901 CRNs 14189 & 13751 Simultaneous
Classrooms
Offices: Downtown, Buena Vista Bldg., 4.356 Institute for Law & Public Affairs & MS 4.03.34
Phones: 458-2990; Fax 458-2993 Classrooms: BB 3.04.06 & FS 2.506 Class time: MW 11:00-12:15
This course counts for 3 of the 6 hours of POL Core Curriculum Requirements
e-mail: richard.gambitta@utsa.edu
Office Hours: (1604) M 2-4 & (DT) W 2-4 or by
appointment
**WebCT: https://webct.utsa.edu/webct/ticket/ticketLogin?action=print_login&request_uri=/webct/homearea/homearea%3F
Websites: Professor Gambitta’s Webpage, Bio, Syllabi, etc. http://colfa.utsa.edu/users/rgambitta/
Institute for Law and Public Affairs’ Webpage: www.utsa.edu/ilpa
Political Science Department: http://colfa.utsa.edu/Polisci/
In class, we shall refer to this course simply as Civil Rights. The course gives special attention to the
U.S. and Texas Constitutions. Students must read and become knowledgeable about this syllabus and
those constitutions. Students must be conversant about matters appearing in red. Each student is
responsible for the readings, videos, recordings, and discussions that are assigned or experienced in this
class. The professor will hold each student responsible for these assignments, lectures, presentations,
and discussions. Students are given an opportunity to learn the field of civil rights from many
perspectives across numerous historical periods and substantive areas. The professor expects you to
perform at a level of excellence. You should expect the same of this course and me, as well. Anything
less will indicate an inadequate use of our time.
In Civil Rights students conduct analytical, normative, and empirical inquiries into the status of civil
rights in Texas and the United States. This course is designed to assist the student in thinking
analytically, normatively, and empirically about political issues relating to or affecting civil rights in this
land. Civil rights include the governmental guarantees regarding discrimination in its many modes,
other guarantees aimed at the elimination of obstructions to full participation in electoral and political
processes, and other guarantees associated with the enjoyment the full citizenship and human rights.
Many of these guarantees are secured on paper by constitutional (e.g. 14th or 15th Amendment) and
statutory law (e.g. the Voting Rights Act or Civil Rights Act). Of course, paper guarantees must be
transformed into reality, or else we have “cosmetic politics” and “symbolic rights”, not worth much
more than the paper on which they are printed. The professor would like students to examine three
realms of rights: (a) “the technical realm” which are the rights as written in the formal documents or
texts of law; (b) “the formal realm” of rights, which are the rights as enforced and implemented by the
courts and within the other formal legal institutions of the society; and (c) the informal realm, which are
rights as they exist on the streets, that is, as they are seen by the population in the community. The
history of discrimination is complex and ranges in: (a) degrees of intensity (e.g. from lynching and
slavery to gerrymandering, redlining, voting polarization, and school financing), (b) forms (e.g. from
blatant violence to subtle profiling, to private choices), and (c) types (race, sex, sexual orientation, age,
religion, ethnicity, status, etc.) and arenas (e.g. housing, education, voting, social groups, etc.) Students
should be sensitive to the careful balancing of the basic principles of equality and freedom in the
ongoing blending of the cocktail called civil rights.
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Students and professor will explore not only the civil rights guarantees of the bills of rights in the U.S.
and Texas Constitutions, but also in federal and state statutes. We shall engage historical facts, doctrinal
interpretations, and political, social and legal theory. Students should increase their substantive
knowledge about individual rights and government’s use, abuse, and non-use of its powers in its
establishment, protection, or implementation of rights. Moreover, students should reflect about the
rightness or wrongness of government policy and programs, existing or proposed, exploring both our
personal and our public criteria for evaluating whether policy is good or bad. Students should
investigate what causes these policies to exist or not exist, what impact the adopted or proposed policies
have on people’s lives, and what people (including you) should attempt to do about it.
The course begins with an examination of basic texts concerning civil rights. Our first assignment
reviews the classic book by George Orwell, Animal Farm. I have given a hyperlink to the text of the
book. Then, we become familiar with the U.S. Constitution and especially the Bill of Rights (see first
ten amendments) and amendments 13, 14, 15 (Civil War Amendments) and 19, 23, 24 and 26 (franchise
expansion). We shall study the history of civil rights movements in the U.S. During the semester, we
will discuss denials and alleged denials of various rights to diverse people, the need or alleged need for
special protections by the government, the many modes of discrimination against women and minority
groups, affirmative action or reverse discrimination, and perhaps, given time constraints, the rights of
gun owners, voters, aliens, gays, the poor, the old, the young, the physically and mentally challenged,
immigrants, the majority, everyone of us, etc. The professor (and I am sure students) will present civil
rights materials and arguments from the radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, and reactionary
perspectives, and from governmental restraint and activist positions. These presentations and
argumentations from different perspectives aim to “agitate your craniums,” to stir you upand to help you
think about alternative, opposing, or reinforcing arguments to your assessments, prejudices, and
preferences.
Support services, including registration assistance and equipment, are available to students with
documented disabilities. Contact the Office of Disability Services (DSS), MS 2.03.18 at 458-4157 to
secure arrangements or accommodations.
Academic Dishonesty: The professor condemns and prohibits any form of plagiarism, cheating, or other
unfair, unethical conduct and will prosecute occurrences according to UTSA rules (see UTSA
Information Bulletin.) See: UTSA Information Bulletin p 128 ff.,
“Academic or scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the
submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person,
taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student, or the
attempt to commit such acts. Academic dishonesty is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and is
addressed in Appendix B, Sec. 203 of this bulletin…” And, to be clear: “‘Plagiarism’ includes, but is not
limited to, the appropriation, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another’s work and
the submission of it as one’s own academic work offered for credit.”
A longer e-syllabus will be available on WebCt. That e-syllabus will have your ongoing assignments
and links to your reading readings. This is a WebCT course. Many readings will be placed on WebCt.
DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE SYLLABUS ONTO A FLASHDRIVE, DISK, OR HARD-DRIVE
FOR YOUR RETENTION. If you wish a paper copy, notify the instructor, but you really need the
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electronic version with the hotlinks. You will be able to access the material directly from the e-syllabus
if connected to the Internet.
This class is multimedia, campus interactive, and discussion oriented. The professor will use many
pedagogical modes
Attendance is mandatory. The instructor requires that students attend every class, prepared sufficiently
to discuss reading assignments, engage in discussions, and answer questions asked by the professors or
fellow students. The quality of your contributions through participation to our seminar's enrichment and
enlightenment will determine ten percent of your grade. The professor wishes to meet with students
concerning any questions that may arise on subjects related to this course. The professor hopes to give
individual attention to students, despite the large enrollment on two campuses. The professor is
available by appointment and e-mail, as well as office hours. Use the regular email account
richard.gambitta@UTSA.edu, rather than WebCt to contact the professor.
The professor reserves the right to alter this syllabus to accommodate the pace that best promotes
students' maximum education.
Course Requirements:
Quality of Class Discussion
Exam One
Exam / Paper
Final exam
Quizzes
Attendance
05%
25%
30%
30%
10%
Priceless
Required Readings:
Animal Farm, George Orwell, available for purchase at bookstores OR electronic version at:
http://www.readprint.com/work-1250/Animal-Farm-George-Orwell Online version
or also at:
http://books.google.com/books?id=SGAZdjNfruYC&dq=animal+farm+by+george+orwell&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=vsL34kfSSF&sig=k1vNi
MmY1pG63lLy6K8GYklZyIY&hl=en&ei=FniQSqrJMd6Ptgf-oKDPBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Note
that the actual book starts on page twenty-five on this version.
White but Not Equal: Mexican Americans, Jury Discrimination, and the Supreme Court
by Ignacio M. Garcia
U.S. Constitution http://www.usconstitution.net
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
U.S. Constitution http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/constitution/toc.html
Texas Constitution http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/txconst/toc.html
PLUS, MASTER ALL OF THE READINGS ON THE ELECTRONIC SYLLABUS AND WEBCT, AS
THE SEMESTER PROGRESSES. THIS WILL BE THE BULK OF THE READINGS. These range
from documents, to court opinions, to civil rights literature of a historical, political, social nature. Plus,
students must view and learn all of the video, audio, and documentary assignments, understanding the
material contained in them, well. Sometimes, viewing more than one time is necessary.
THE PROFESSOR RESERVES THE PRIVILEGE TO ALTER THE MATERIALS AND
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SEQUENCING OF THE SYLLABUS TO HEIGHTEN THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES OF THE
STUDENTS.
RECOMMENDED READINGS for those seeking a greater understanding of the civil rights
movement in the U.S. concerning race:
Branch, Taylor
Branch, Taylor
Cisneros, Henry C.
Fairclough, Adam,
Lebowitz, Holly & Gary Orfield
Limon, José
Loury, Glenn C.,
Maltz, Earl, M.,
Riley, Russell, L.,
Semonche, John E.
Shull, Steven A.,
Swinney, Everette,
Washington, James M.
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-1965
Latinos and the Nation’s Future
Better Day Coming: Blacks and Equality 1890-2000
Religion, Race, and Justice in a Changing America
The Story of Latino Civil Rights: Fighting for Justice
The Anatomy of Racial Inequality
Civil Rights, The Constitution and Congress, 1863-1869
The Presidency and the Politics of Racial Inequality: Nation
Keeping from 1831-1965
Keeping the Faith, A Cultural History of the US Supreme Court
American Civil Rights Policy from Truman to Clinton
Suppressing the Ku Klux Klan: The Enforcement of the
Reconstruction Amendments, 1970-1877
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of
Martin Luther King Jr.
First Assignments: Wednesday, August 26 & Monday 31 - Animal Farm, Syllabus, U.S. Constitution
Wednesday, September 2- U.S. Constitution (emphasis as Bill of Rights)
Wednesday, September 9- Texas Bill of Rights, Article VII, and assigned §§
ASSIGNMENTS: for the Civil Rights classes of September 14 through September 16.
1. You are to read the following two articles Online, plus the material below. 2. You may
want to start with the Overview of Jim Crow Laws below, then do the two articles, then
review the substance of the actual laws that follow on these pages, below the
“Overview” material. 3. Read the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson, cited below the two
articles Online, after you finish the other material:
2. http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/creating2.htm
*http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/resisting.htm **Click the links on W.E.B.
DuBois (William Edward Burghardt DuBois, and Booker T. Washington In the articles
to become familiar with these two Influential Individuals.
3. Black Codes and Texas—Read both pieces below:
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/blackcodes/a/blackcodes1865.htm
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/BB/jsb1.html
4. Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=US&vol=163&page=537 (full text)
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument (summary)
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5. OVERVIEW OF JIM CROW LAWS
The following are drawn from and all are quoted from the citation and Website below. Much
Material is deleted from the syllabus and appears on WebCT. Read the Jim Crow laws from the
various states.
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/jimcrowlaw1/a/creationjimcrow.htm “Jim Crow laws were laws that
imposed racial segregation. They existed mainly in the South and originated from the Black Codes
that were enforced from 1865 to 1866 and from prewar segregation on railroad cars in northern
cities. The laws sprouted up in the late nineteenth century after Reconstruction and lasted”
6. Civil Rights Act of 1875
Specific section from Civil Rights Act of 1875:
“Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, That all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the
full and equal and enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns,
public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement; subject only to
the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of every race and
color, regardless of any previous condition of servitude.” (emphasis added)
________________________________________________________________________
For Week of September 21 through September 28
Read and /or listen to numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
1. http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/washington_b.htm
Booker T. Washington short biography and summary of positions
2. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/39/ or
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=69
Booker T. Washington, Speech Before the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition,
September 18, 1895
To listen to the recording of the speech, go to: http://archive.lib.msu.edu/VVL/dbnumbers/DB191.mp3
3. http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EHYPER/WASHINGTON/cover.html or
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/washington/washing.html
Up From Slavery Booker T. Washington autobiography
4. http://www.naacp.org/about/history/dubois/
Biography of WEB Du Bois
5. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/408/408-h/408-h.htm
W.E.B. Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk
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6. http://www.international.ucla.edu/africa/mgpp/audio/speech02.au
Marcus Garvey recording on the “Explanation of the Objects of the Universal Negro
Improvement Association” (General site at http://www.international.ucla.edu/africa/mgpp/sound.asp)
Review Timeline: http://www.brownvboard.org/chronology/
Timeline of selected Civil Rights Landmarks, referred to in lectures. Keep events in order.
First Examination September 30
October 5-19 Assignments
7. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2005/oct/25/guardianobituaries.usa
Rosa Parks Obituary and History Guardian Sheila Rowbotham
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday October 25 2005 19:38 BST
8. http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/about_king/encyclopedia/bus_boycott.html
Montgomery Bus Boycott & New Phase of Civil Rights Movement
9. http://www.mlkonline.net/jail.html Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16,
1963
10. http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html
Text of Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream Speech, WebCT or above: Video shown in
class
11. http://www.malcolm-x.org/speeches/spc_021465.htm text (audio available)
Malcolm X, After the Bombing
12. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/AA/wmafr.html
Texas History: “AFRICAN AMERICANS AND POLITICS”
by Chandler Davidson, The Handbook of Texas Online
13. Court Actions in the Civil Rights Era

READ FROM EDITED DOCUMENT ON WEBCT ENTITLED:
WebCT and lecture materials on several cases, including Missouri ex-rel Gaines, McLaurin v. OK, etc.
a. “Sweatt, Brown I & II” (12 pages from opinions) and then the OYEZ
hotlinks to assist in understanding the actual judicial opinions. Three opinions on WebCt or
below.
b. **Read Dr. Gambitta’s article on Sweatt in Encyclopedia of the U.S. Supreme Court on
WebCT
Articles from the Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the U.S. will be assigned Online
WebCT.
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c. Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950)
http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/375/ Summary on Sweatt
History and timeline of Brown, et al., v. Board of Education of Topeka
http://www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/history/fullhistory.html Full history
http://www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/history/timeline.html Timeline
“The Road to Brown” video, William Elwood, 56 minutes…
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=US&vol=347&page=483
Brown v. Board of Education (I), 347 U.S. 483 (1954), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral
Argument
Brown v. Board of Education, 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
1136/1140
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=US&vol=349&page=294
Brown v. Board of Education (II), 349 U.S. 294 (1955), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral
Argument
Note: Read the implementation decision of 1955 as if you were a federal judge charged with oversight
and compliance obligations. Simulation in class.
http://www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/history/factsheet_history.html
Fact Sheet and Case Summary
http://www.brownat50.org/brownChrono/BrownHistory.html
Brown@50, Fulfilling the Promise, by Steven D. Jamar
15. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1 (1971)
http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/374/
16. Freedom Riders
http://www.freedomridersfoundation.org/brief.history.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/05_riders.html#video
17. Assignments - audio and video: Listen to all of these clips
http://www.mlkonline.net/video-i-have-a-dream-speech.html
17:26
*MLK, Jr., “I Have a Dream”, viewed and discussed in class, text assigned
*http://www.mlkonline.net/video-knock-at-midnight-speech.html?v=_agUA-htonQ
“MLK A Knock at Midnight” – MLK Speech on Montgomery
7:25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwKIUMbi9Jk&feature=related
*MLK on non violence and Malcolm X
3:31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ3rSXw5Rbo&feature=related
*Malcolm X on MLK
2:24
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*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-aKjXR_uFI&feature=related
*James Baldwin on MLK and Malcolm X
6:28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znQe9nUKzvQ
*Malcolm X on House and Field Negroes
1:58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkTnUxLjO2E&NR=1
*“By Any Means Necessary” Malcolm X
7:39
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmzaaf-9aHQ&feature=related
*Malcolm X in Debate at Oxford University (talks on voter disenfranchisement…) 7:36
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7f5NTLgtEA&feature=related
*If someone puts a dog on you, kill the dog… discussion in Berkeley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3WMfAmg3Bo&NR=1
*Malcolm X: We've Never Bombed Any Churches
4:59
4:32
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDx6BAv82po&feature=related
*Malcolm X, Anti-Hostile Speech excerpt – If you’re black you’re born in jail
4:03
Read or hear this speech—sixteen pages on WebCt, or over an hour by voice.
http://www.malcolm-x.org/speeches/spc_021465.htm audio is…
84:00
After the Bombing / Speech at Ford Auditorium
Malcolm X, transcribed and edited by the Malcolm X Museum and Noaman Ali
You can listen to this speech, click here [requires RealPlayer, approx. 1hr 24min]
18. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5149667
Freedom Riders, text with link to NPR radio special with Terry Gross (read and listen)
19. The Later Years of MLK—anti Vietnam and War, false imprisonment, and prophecies of moral change
Martin Luther King, Jr., Beyond Vietnam (“Why I am opposed to the War…”) full version 22:49
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Az0bdbHOI&feature=related audio tape, no video available
OR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U&eurl=http://www.mlkonline.net/video-mlk-opposed-to-vietnam-war.html
OR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U
http://codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=719 Short Version of MLK speech relating it to Iraq (Code Pink)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Az0bdbHOI&feature=related
Short version, 2:33
Short edited version, 2:33, with video relating MLK Vietnam speech to Pres. Bush & Iraq
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvymnF-_Pf8&feature=related
“I’m sorry sir, but you don’t know me… “(speech outside prison…) January 14, 1968
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAYITODNvlM&NR=1
“How long, not long…”
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*MLK “Been to the Mountaintop,” April 3 1968 (Day before his assassination) *
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8
(Short version with video)
1:17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI_tQ5DdFAkfeature=related Part 1
10:38
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n53GuVt0tlY&NR=1 Part 2
9:28
(longer version audio with still pictures)
Start reading the designated articles from Oxford Companion which are now Online.
A Start on Voting Rights:
20. This edited article is available on the WebCt under the title below as an MS Word document, or
by using the link below:
Techniques of Direct Disenfranchisement, 1880-1965
http://www.umich.edu/~lawrace/disenfranchise1.htm (know specifics)
Read Voting Rights articles from Oxford Companion now Online.
Leading up to the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act
21.
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=58190&display_order=6&mini_id=58198
MLK and LBJ on WebCT or at the link
Music on Civil Rights and Patriotism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFLy8eGtSYo&feature=related
22. Civil Rights Cases 1883 (Back to the past)
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=109&page=3
23. Four Little Girls: music tribute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shgSLKb-onA
Joan Baez
October 21-26
24. Birmingham bombing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI9EXuTNB2o&feature=related
25. U S v. Cruikshank 92 U.S. 542 (1875) (return to the past, review)
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al4.htm
Selma to Montgomery March, Bloody Sunday
26. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/10_march.html#gallery
Bloody Sunday video and aftermath protests (watch the video)
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27. Voting Rights Act
http://www.africanamericans.com/VotingRightsAct1965.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/10_march.html#gallery
Second Examination November 2
Dr. Gambitta on three equal protection tests:
Rational Basis Test
This is Normal Constitutional Law (this is the minimal test):
Each time government takes action it must have:
1. Government must possess a Legitimate Governmental Interest (i. e. the ENDS being
pursued by government must be legitimate…)
o
o
That is, for the government to pursue or adopt an action, it must have a legitimate
interest in doing so.
With federal government, that is easy, i.e. the Congress must have the authorization to
act in Art. 1 § 8 (or elsewhere)
2. The government’s adopted means must be rationally related to the pursuance of the
legitimate governmental interest… (The Means chose to pursue the ENDS must
conceivably be pursuing those ends…)
e.g. The government’s statute which is passed to pursue the
government’s
legitimate
interest must be (conceivably) rationally
related to the pursuance of that government
interest, or that end
which the government is authorized to pursue…
3. In this normal constitutional law, a presumption of constitutionality exists, that is, the
courts presume the government law is to be constitutionally legitimate, and the burden rests
on the plaintiff to demonstrate that the statute or ordinance is unconstitutional, i.e. that
there exists no legitimate interest or rational basis or relationship for the means pursuing
the espoused legitimate interest of the state.
Strict Scrutiny
Strict judicial scrutiny is activated if either:
A Fundamental Right is at issue
(i.e. a fundamental right is one which is explicitly or implicitly in the text of the Constitution)
OR B
B. Suspect Class (is involved)
(A Suspect class is a classification of people by the government for differential treatment based
on an immutable characteristic…)
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If either a fundamental right or a suspect class is at stake, then the court activates strict judicial
scrutiny, where:
(A)
The presumption of constitutionality shifts, and the burden is on the government…
(B)
The Government must demonstrate that it has a Compelling Governmental Interest AND
(C)
Old formulation: the means ( e.g. the statutory scheme) employed by the government
must be the least injurious to the suspect class or the fundamental right
(D)
Modern formulation: the means employed by the government must be narrowly tailored in
the pursuance of the compelling governmental interest so that it does not abridge more of the
fundamental right than necessary or injure the suspect class more than is necessary to
accomplish the compelling governmental interest.
Substantial Relationship Test
Substantial Relationship Test
(this is “heightened scrutiny”—applies when different treatment given on the basis of the sex of
the person, etc.)
The Government must demonstrate:
 It is pursuing an Important Governmental Interest
 Means must be substantially related to the government’s important interest
Notice, burden resides with the state. The presumption of constitutionality is gone.
Readings:
**Sacco and Vanzetti, documentary, a film by Peter Miller
**White but Not Equal: Mexican Americans, Jury Discrimination, and the Supreme Court
by Ignacio M. Garcia
A Class Apart, Documentary by Carlos Sandoval and Peter Miller see WebCt**
Hernandez v Texas, 347 U.S 475 (1954)
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=US&vol=347&page=475
http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/chicano/chicano.html
Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. Video. NLCC Educational Media,
1996. Shown in class.
http://utopia.utexas.edu/explore/clark/hernandez_long.html
Mexican American Civil Rights - Hernandez v. Texas, 1954, The Papers Of Justice Tom C. Clark
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http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/HH/jrh1.html
Hernández v. Texas, Handbook of Texas Online
http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/5226.html
New York Times, “The Hispanic ‘Brown’ Case,” May 15, 2004
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/pfc2.html
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "CHICANO"
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/DD/jrd2.html
Del Rio ISD v. Salvatierra; Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "DEL RIO ISD V SALVATIERRA"
**Full text of Salvatierra decision is posted separately on the Web CT. Read it.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/DD/jrd1.html
Handbook of Texas Online, "DELGADO V BASTROP INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT"
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/jrc2.html
Cisneros v. Corpus Christi ISD; Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "CISNEROS V CORPUS CHRISTI
ISD"
Full opinions of the two Cisneros cases are posted separately on WebCT or available in the UTSA
library on reserve:
Cisneros v. Corpus Christi Independent School District, 324 F. Supp. 599 (S.D. Tex 1970)
Cisneros v. Corpus Christi Independent School District, 467 F.2d 142; (5th Cir. 1972)
Brown over "Other White": Mexican Americans' Legal Arguments and Litigation Strategy in
School Desegregation Lawsuits Steven H. Wilson
http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lhr/21.1/forum_wilson.html
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Tentative material to be added based on time left in semester!
American Outrage a film by Beth and George Gage (Shosone sisters & Supreme Court land claim case)
Remainder of Semester assignments on women’s rights, affirmative action, guns, sexual
orientation, and age discrimination as posted on WebCT.
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