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Special Report Regarding the Constitutionality of Massachusetts Civil and Criminal Civil Rights Laws

NCJ Number
149794
Date Published
1993
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Civil rights and constitutional law experts conducted a comprehensive legal review of the Massachusetts civil rights laws and concluded that these laws are constitutionally sound and on firm legal foundation.
Abstract
The Massachusetts laws are fundamentally different from the St. Paul, Minn. hate crime ordinance that was at issue in the United States Supreme Court decision of R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul. The Court held that this ordinance violated the First Amendment because it prohibited the expression of certain ideas on the basis of their content and not on the basis of the method in which these ideas were conveyed. In contrast, Massachusetts civil rights statutes target only conduct, not ideas. They proscribe conduct already criminal in nature and do not apply to speech or conduct that would otherwise be lawful. The findings of this analysis should send a clear message both to victims and to potential perpetrators that bias-motivated crimes will be vigorously prosecuted in Massachusetts. Footnotes and list of members of study group