Suppose a covered employer fires a worker because of race. The worker may use Title VII's administrative and judicial process, while the responsible agency investigates or attempts resolution and a court may later determine liability and relief. That path differs from a Justice Department prosecution for intentional interference with a federally protected activity or from a constitutional suit against a state official. Under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, Congress may deter and remedy constitutional violations but may not simply redefine the constitutional right; the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Amendments supply distinct enforcement powers with their own scope. Sovereign immunity, jurisdiction, filing rules, and standing can also shape a case without denying that the underlying right exists. Announcing a right does not automatically supply a lawsuit, a prosecutor, and damages. A complete analysis separates four questions: what right applies, who allegedly violated it, which institution may enforce it, and which remedy the governing law permits.

Video lesson: Equal Protection: Crash Course Government and Politics #29