The Bane Act (California Civil Code § 52.1.), also known as the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, is a

civil code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...

California Law The law of California consists of several levels, including Constitutional law, constitutional, Statutory law, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulati ...

that forbids people from interfering with a person's constitutional rights by force or threat of violence. A

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

under the Bane Act is a

civil claim A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a p ...

against someone who has attempted or managed to interfere with someone's

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

(as guaranteed by state and federal law in the United States) through any act or acts of

coercion Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...

, violence, threats of violence, or intimidation, including victims of

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

violence. The rights protected under the Bane Act are inclusive of the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, speak, bear arms, etc. One example of such a lawsuit followed the death of actress

Vanessa Marquez Vanessa Rosalia Marquez (December 21, 1968 – August 30, 2018) was an American actress. She was primarily known for her recurring role in the first three seasons of '' ER'' as nurse Wendy Goldman, as well as her role as Ana Delgado in the 1988 b ...

, whose mother's attorneys filed a claim against the City of

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It ...

for violation of the Bane Act.

History

The Bane Act was originally enacted in 1987 'to stem a tide of hate crimes.' (Venegas v. County of Los Angeles (2004) 32 Cal.4th 820, 845 (conc. opn. of Baxter, J.).) This civil code was created by California State Assemblyman

Tom Bane Tom Bane (December 28, 1913 – April 11, 1999) was an American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1959 to 1965 and from 1974 to 1992. Early life and education Bane was born on December 28, 1913, in Los Angeles and grad ...

, becoming an official law in 1988 that mandated heavy punishment for hate crimes committed in California.

References

Civil codes {{US-law-stub