A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury. Examples of civil rights are freedom of speech, press, and assembly; the right to vote; freedom from involuntary servitude; and the right to equality in public places. Discrimination occurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of their membership in a particular group or class. Statutes have been enacted to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin, and in some instances sexual preference. Civil rights attorneys handle cases involving the rights of individuals to be free from unequal treatment (or discrimination) based on legally-protected characteristics such as race, gender, disability, national origin, age, sexual orientation, and religion. Civil rights cases can arise in a number of settings -- including employment, housing, lending, and education.
Whitmore Lake is an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community spans the boundary between Green Oak Township in Livingston County and Northfield Township in Washtenaw County. The United States Census Bureau has defined a census-designated place (CDP) with this name for statistical purposes, which has no legal status as an incorporated municipality. The population was 6,574 at the 2000 census. The community is located about nine miles (14.5 km) north of Ann Arbor and about nine miles south of Brighton. It is situated around the shores of Whitmore Lake and the CDP also includes the area around the smaller Horseshoe Lake to the south, Lawton Lake to the east and Monahan Lake to the northeast. U.S. Highway 23 forms the western edge of much of the CDP for the 2000 census. The Whitmore Lake post office, with ZIP code 48189, serves a larger area than that defined by the CDP and includes portions of southeast Hamburg Township, northeastern Webster Township, and a larger parts of Green Oak and Northfield Township than are included in the CDP. The 667-acre Whitmore Lake was named by Jonathan F. Stratton, a surveyor, after Luke H. Whitmore, a local landowner around 1825. Area residents have considered incorporation many times, but have not chosen to do so yet. The well known 8 Mile Road that forms the boundary between the city of Detroit and Detroit's northern suburbs in Oakland and Macomb Counties, comes to an end in Whitmore Lake along with 9 Mile, 7 Mile, 6 Mile, and 5 Mile Road.