Brief of Amici Curiae Thirteenth Amendment Scholars in Support of Plaintiff-Appellee and Affirmance

Abstract

In the case of United States v. Hatch, the defendant in a hate crimes prosecution brought the first major challenge to the constitutionality of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. This amicus brief argues that the Act is constitutional under the Thirteenth Amendment

Keywords: Thirteenth Amendment, hate crimes, racial discrimination, disability, sexual orientation, Congress, enforcement clause power, Civil Rights, rationality standard, congruence and proportionality, private action, Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., City of Boerne

JEL Classification: K19, K49