New federal civil rights statutes multiplied district court filings over 100-fold

Evidence

Congressional statutes and executive-branch actions affect the number and type of cases brought before the district courts. In 1960, for example, only 306 civil rights cases were filed in district courts. During the 1960s, Congress adopted major civil rights laws, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. These laws, together with the expansive judicial interpretation of civil rights laws enacted during Reconstruction, encouraged victims of discrimination to seek redress in the federal courts; and the number of civil rights cases rose accordingly. In 2006, for example, there were 32,865 civil rights cases, accounting for almost 13 percent of all civil cases filed in district courts. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 277

Categorization

• SEED: Shows legislation creating new causes of action directly drives judicial caseload — a concrete essay angle on how Congress sets the judiciary’s agenda.
• XREF: connects to: New civil rights statutes drove a surge in federal discrimination filings. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 337

Broader Connections

• New civil rights statutes drove a surge in federal discrimination filings. #expands (0.95) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 337