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.
Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of 2008, the population was 40,771. Jefferson City was named after Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States of America. Jefferson City is on the northern edge of the Ozark Plateau on the southern side of the Missouri River near the geographic center of the state, in a region known as Mid-Missouri. It is at the western edge of the Missouri Rhineland, a wine-producing region. The city is dominated by the domed Capitol, rising from a bluff overlooking the Missouri River to the north. Lewis and Clark passed beneath that bluff on their historic expedition upriver before Europeans established any settlement there.