Civilrights, which include the right to vote, right to equality, freedom from involuntary servitude, and freedom of speech, press, assembly,is an enforceable right. Only when it is trampled upon that a person may seek redress. Civil rights law protects and preserves the liberties enjoyed by all citizens in the United States. Civil rights law also protects individuals from government conduct, which are arbitrary and which deprive individuals of their lives or property without due process of law.

The Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution is the primary source of civil rights law. The most important expansions of civil rights inthe United States are embodied in the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the nation, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which constitutionalizes due process of law and equalprotection of the law. The decades that followed the enactment of theThirteenth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment saw the creation of numerous civil rights statues, most of which are still in place in the United States.

Congress passed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in public establishments connected to interstate commerce or are supported by the state. The Act defined public establishments to include places of public accommodations, restaurants, gas stations, bars, and places of entertainment. Subsequent legislation prohibited discrimination in public schools and colleges, and in federally funded problems. The Act further expanded to prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.

The Supreme Court's decisions in civil rights cases have resoundingeffects as to how civil rights are recognized throughout the nation.Supreme Court decisions also has a huge influence on how Congressenact civil rights laws and how states protect these rights.

One of main issues arising from civil rights violations is discriminationin workplace, especially with regards to gender, are common. Women,increasingly members of the LGBT community, are susceptible to sexualharassment and suffers undue disadvantage in career promotionsbecause of gender.

Another common issue is the improper conduct by law enforcement resulting toexcessive force or brutality, illegal searches and seizures, falsearrests, and unjustified police shootings. Power play often figures in lawsuits arising from police brutality, as the police or the federal government would typically argue that their act was on behalfof their duty to maintain peace and order. These lawsuits are also often emotional as surviving members of the victim's family try to seek justice for individuals killed by the police. Most often, these lawsuits are also politically charged especially in cases where race or ethnicity play a role in the police conduct.

In addition, another main issue arising from civil rights violation is malicious prosecution. As new technology are developed to probe evidence, many individuals across the nation are filing lawsuits seeking redress of their wrongful conviction. These cases involve large settlements and jury awards and would need skillful litigating tactics of a civil rights attorney. Another common abuse to civilrights is prison brutality. In recent years, inmates have gained stronger voices in telling courts of inhumane and cruel practices incorrectional facilities. Inmates, however, cannot keep a steady voice without a civil rights attorney who is ready to fight against the government.

A crime is an act or omission of an act that violates public rulesand regulations. Criminal laws in the United States were enacted tomaintain safety and security and ensure the citizens enjoy theirliberties by prohibiting or regulating certain acts. People whoviolate criminal laws face fines, penalties or imprisonment, ordeath, in certain jurisdictions. Criminal laws, just like almost allother laws, originated with common law and its interpretation, andthe development of these interpretations through the years. Specificincidents, in both national and state arena, also drive legislatorsinto formulating new rules and regulations to address theseincidents.

How a crime is defined and what is considered a crime differs fromone state to another's penal code. A state's penal code isaccompanied with enabling rules and regulations. There are alsofederal crimes and federal criminal laws govern these crimes. Fromthe criminal rules and regulations are created law enforcementagencies, such as the police in the state level, and the FederalBureau of Investigation in the federal level, to make sure criminallaws are not violated. The U.S. Constitution, through the Bill ofRights, is the primary law of the land that limits how criminal lawsshould be applied.

A crime is jurisdiction-specific, which means the law where the crimeis committed governs that crime. It follows that jurisdiction remainswhere the crime was committed. One of the issues that make criminallaw a turf only for experts is the differences among criminal laws indifferent jurisdictions. More than 50 states and territories comprisethe United States. Add to that the federal criminal law that governsfederal crimes, and the crimes committed in other jurisdictionsconsidered to be American jurisdictions, such as a ship, an aircarrier, or an embassy. Jurisdiction, thus, becomes a complicatedmatter when a crime in one state may not be a crime in another.Jurisdiction becomes more complicated when a crime is both a statecrime and a federal crime, resulting to overlapping jurisdiction.

Legal research work in criminal cases is exhaustive. Jurisdictiondetermines whether a precedent is binding. An appellate court'sdecision is often the only decision that can create precedents. Thesedecided upon cases are used by criminal law attorneys to boost theirarguments or strengthen their opponent's arguments, so much of theirlegal work is trying to find applicable and strong precedents.

There are numerous crimes, and each crime is specifically definedsuch that the difference between one crime and another may be amatter of a single word. Before an act or an omission is considered acrime, the prosecutor must first establish several elements. Theseelements must be countered upon by the defendant's attorney such thatthe defendant will be found to not have committed the crime or willbe found to have committed a crime with an accompanying lesserpenalty. Arguing against the elements of a crime is a tedious matteras prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, who produce theevidence, are equipped with sophisticated evidence-gatheringmachinery.