CIVIL RIGHT

civil right.(usu. pl.) 1. The individual rights of personal liberty guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and by the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments, as well as by legislation such as the Voting Rights Act. • Civil rights include esp. the right to vote, the right of due process, and the right of equal protection under the law. [Cases: Civil Rights  1027. C.J.S. Civil Rights §§ 4–5, 8, 13.] 2.CIVIL LIBERTY.

“At common law a person convicted of a felony became an outlaw. He lost all of his civil rights and all of his property became forfeited. This harsh rule no longer prevails. Under modern jurisprudence the civil rights of a person convicted of a crime, be it a felony or misdemeanor, are in nowise affected or diminished except insofar as express statutory provisions so prescribe.” Alexander Holtzoff, “Civil Rights of Criminals,” in Encyclopedia of Criminology 55 (Vernon C.

Branham & Samuel B. Kutash eds., 1949).[Blacks Law 8th]