What Are My Civil Rights in North Carolina (And How Do I Know If They’ve Been Violated?)

It’s a terrible feeling.

You feel powerless. You feel like the system is stacked against you. Maybe you were treated unfairly by the police. Maybe you were fired for no good reason. Maybe you were just wronged by someone in a position of power.

It feels… unfair. And you feel like you’re the only one it’s happening to.

We want you to know something: You are not alone.

Our team at Huggins Law Firm has sat down with folks from Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, and all across the Triad who feel this exact same way. They are good, hardworking people who just want a fair shake. They want someone to listen. They want someone to fight for them.

This page is here to help.

We are a law firm, but our goal right now is not to use confusing legal jargon. Our goal is to give you information. We want to walk you through, step-by-step, what your rights are in North Carolina. We want to help you figure out if those rights have been violated.

This is a big topic. It’s complex. But you don’t have to figure it out by yourself. Let’s start with the basics.

What is a “Civil Right,” Anyway?

 

We hear this term on the news all the time. But what does it actually mean?

Here’s the simplest way to think about it: A civil right is a promise.

It’s a promise made by the government (both the U.S. government and the North Carolina government) that says how they will treat you. It’s a set of rules that everyone—especially the government and people in power—must follow.

These promises are written down. They are in the United States Constitution. They are in the Bill of Rights. They are in powerful laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

These aren’t just suggestions. They are your rights.

When someone in a position of power breaks one of these promises, it’s more than just “unfair.” It is a “civil rights violation.” And you have the power to hold them accountable.

The Most Important Law You’ve Never Heard Of: Section 1983

If you take away only one thing from this guide, let it be this.

There is a federal law that is the most powerful tool for protecting your rights. It is called 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

That sounds complicated, but here is what it does, in plain English:

Section 1983 is the law that gives you, a regular citizen, the power to sue the government (and its employees) in federal court if they violate your rights.

This law was passed way back in 1871, but it is the key to almost every modern civil rights case.

Who Can I Sue? The “Color of Law”

You can’t use this law to sue your neighbor for being rude. You can use it to sue someone who is “acting under the color of law.”

What does that mean? It means someone who is using the power of the government. This includes:

• Police officers
• Sheriff’s deputies
• Jail and prison guards
• City or county officials
• Public school officials

When a police officer arrests you, they aren’t just a regular person—they are using the power of their badge and their uniform. They are acting “under the color of law.”

If they use that power to violate your constitutional rights, Section 1983 is how you fight back.

What Does a Police Misconduct Case Look Like in North Carolina?

This is the most common type of civil rights case we see. It’s also the one that is most confusing, because it is so closely tied to a Criminal Law case.

It is very important to know: you can have two cases at the same time.

1. The Criminal Case: This is “The State of North Carolina vs. You.”
2. The Civil Case: This is “You vs. The Police Officer/City.”

Our team of lawyers has deep experience in both. We can defend you in your criminal case while also building your civil case to hold the officers accountable.

Here are the most common violations we see in cities like Greensboro, Burlington, and right here in the Triad.

Excessive Force

This is the big one. The law says that police can use force. But the force they use must be “objectively reasonable.”

What does “reasonable” mean? It’s not what the officer thought was reasonable. It’s what a jury, after hearing all the facts, thinks was right.

• Did you run from the police? They can probably tackle you.
• Did you point a weapon? They can, and likely will, use deadly force.
• But were you already in handcuffs? Were you following commands? Were you a threat? If the answer is “no” and they used force anyway—like a taser, a baton, or their fists—that is a classic excessive force violation.

This is true even if you were guilty of the crime. You have a right to be arrested safely.

False Arrest / Malicious Prosecution

This is a nightmare. This is when you are arrested for no reason.

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution says you have a right to be free from “unreasonable searches and seizures.” An arrest is a “seizure.” To be “reasonable,” the police must have probable cause to arrest you.

Probable cause is just a good, honest reason to believe you might have committed a crime.

But sometimes, police arrest people out of spite. Or to “teach them a lesson.” Or because they are just too lazy to find the real person who did it.

• If you were arrested without a warrant and without probable cause, you have a False Arrest claim.
• If the officer lied in the police report to get you charged, and the charges were later dismissed, you may have a Malicious Prosecution claim.

Our team’s experience in Criminal Law is a huge advantage here. We’ve read thousands of police reports. We know how to spot the lies. We know how to find the problems in the DA’s case.

Illegal Search (The Fourth Amendment)

This is another huge crossover with criminal defense.

The police cannot just search your person, your car, or your home whenever they want. They need one of two things:

1. A valid search warrant.
2. A legal exception to the warrant rule (like you gave them consent, or the evidence was in plain view).

But we see police, in a hurry, cut corners. They “say” they smelled something. They “say” you looked nervous. They “say” you gave consent when you didn’t.

If police search your car illegally and find something, that’s a criminal law problem. A good lawyer will file a “Motion to Suppress” to get that evidence thrown out.

But it’s also a civil rights problem. The act of violating your privacy is a harm all by itself. We can fight to get your criminal charges dismissed and fight to get you money for the violation of your rights.

Failure to Intervene

This is a fact that very few people talk about, but it is so important.

What if one officer is violating your rights, and three other officers stand there and just watch?

The law is clear: Officers have a duty to stop other officers from violating the Constitution.

If an officer sees their partner using excessive force and does nothing to stop it, that “bystander” officer is just as guilty and can be sued just as easily as the officer who threw the punch.

This is a powerful tool for holding the whole department accountable and changing a culture of silence.

First Amendment (Freedom of Speech and Protest)

We see this a lot in Graham, Greensboro, and other cities. People are passionate. They want to make their voices heard.

Your First Amendment right to free speech is one of your most important. You have a right to:

• Peacefully protest.
• Record the police (this is a big one).
• Say things (even things that are rude) to a police officer.

This right is not absolute. You can’t threaten an officer. You can’t incite a riot. You can’t “interfere” with an active arrest.

But too often, officers get their feelings hurt. They arrest people who are “talking back” and call it “Resisting, Obstructing, or Delaying an Officer” (a common North Carolina charge). They arrest people for filming them.

This is viewpoint discrimination. It is a violation of the First Amendment.

What About My Rights in Jail or Prison? (The Eighth Amendment)

Your rights don’t stop at the jailhouse door.

The Eighth Amendment protects people who have been convicted from “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Fourteenth Amendment protects people who are pre-trial (still innocent) under the “Due Process” clause.

The bottom line is the same: People in jail have a right to be safe and healthy.

A civil rights violation in a jail or prison often looks like this:

• Denial of Serious Medical Care: This is the most common. You tell the jail nurse you have chest pains, and they give you an Tylenol. You say your diabetes medicine is wrong, and they ignore you. You are having a mental health crisis, and they put you in solitary. If they are “deliberately indifferent” to your serious medical needs, that is a violation.
• Failure to Protect: The jailers know a certain gang is after you. They know you have an enemy in your cell block. They do nothing, and you get hurt. That is a violation.
• Inhumane Conditions: We’re not talking about bad food or being bored. We are talking about 24/7 lockdowns in a freezing cold cell, no access to a shower, or sleeping in a room with raw sewage.

These cases are very, very hard to win. The government has a lot of protections. But they are not impossible. A good lawyer knows how to get the internal records and prove the case.

What Are My Rights in the Workplace in North Carolina?

Your civil rights are not just about police. They are also about your job.

A lot of people in High Point and Winston-Salem come to us after being fired. They just know “it wasn’t right.”

North Carolina is an “at-will” employment state. That means you can be fired for almost any reason, or no reason at all.

BUT… you cannot be fired for a bad reason.

Federal law, mainly Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, says your boss cannot make a decision about you (firing, hiring, pay, promotion) based on your:

• Race or color
• Religion
• National origin
• Sex (this now includes sexual orientation and gender identity)
• Disability (this is the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA)
• Age (if you are over 40)
• Pregnancy

This is “workplace discrimination.”

It is almost never obvious. A boss will never say, “I’m firing you because you’re pregnant.” They will say, “You’ve just been late too many times,” while ignoring all the other people who are also late.

A good lawyer knows how to find the pattern.

A Little-Known Fact: In North Carolina, more than 2,600 charges of discrimination were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2022 alone. This is happening every single day.

What to do: You usually must file a charge with the EEOC before you can file a lawsuit. You have a very, very short deadline—sometimes only 180 days! If you feel you were fired for a “bad reason,” you need to call a lawyer today.

What Are My Rights to Housing? (The Fair Housing Act)

This is another big one. The Fair Housing Act says a landlord or real estate agent cannot refuse to rent or sell you a home based on those same “protected classes” (race, religion, sex, etc.).

It also protects against disability discrimination. A landlord must make “reasonable accommodations” for you, like giving you a parking spot near the door for your wheelchair.

It also protects families. This is a big one. It is illegal for a landlord to have a policy like “No Kids Allowed.”

This is an area of law that often connects with our Family Law practice. We see families in transition who are trying to find a new place to live, and they hit these roadblocks.

What is the “Statute of Limitations” for a Civil Rights Case?

This is the most important part of this entire guide.

A “Statute of Limitations” is a legal deadline. If you miss this deadline, your case is over. Forever. It doesn’t matter how badly your rights were violated.

These deadlines are very tricky.

• For Police Misconduct (Section 1983): In North Carolina, you generally have three (3) years from the date of the violation to file a lawsuit. This seems like a long time, but it is not. Building a strong case takes months.
• For Workplace Discrimination: This is the scariest one. You have 180 days from the day you were fired (or “discriminated against”) to file your charge with the EEOC. That is six months. It is a tiny window.
• For State Claims: If you are suing under a North Carolina state law, the deadline could be different.

The Bottom Line: Do not wait. If you are reading this, and the incident just happened, you need to call a lawyer right now to make sure your rights are protected. Even if you are not sure you want to sue, you need to know your deadline.

What is a Civil Rights Case Worth? (The “Damages”)

This is a hard question to answer, and any lawyer who promises you a million dollars on a phone call is not being honest.

Our team at Huggins Law Firm believes in being straight with you. The goal of a civil rights case is to make you “whole” again in the eyes of the law.

You can sue for three types of “damages” (money).

1. Compensatory Damages This is money to pay you back for what you lost. It has two parts:

• Economic Damages: These are the things we can add up with a calculator.
  • Medical bills (from the hospital after an excessive force injury).
  • Lost wages (if you were fired, or if you were in jail and couldn’t work).
  • Future medical bills (if you need surgery or therapy).
• Non-Economic Damages: This is money for the human cost.
  • Pain and suffering.
  • Emotional distress (the nightmares, the anxiety, the fear).
  • Humiliation.

When a client is hurt in a car wreck, we do this all the time in our Personal Injury cases. A civil rights case is very similar.

2. Punitive Damages This is the big one. This is not about paying you back. This is about punishing the officer or the company that violated your rights.

This is money designed to send a message. To tell the police department in Greensboro, or the company in Asheboro, “You cannot do this to people. We are going to make this hurt, so you never do it again.”

3. Attorney’s Fees Here is another huge fact that few people know. In many civil rights cases (like Section 1983 and Title VII), if you win, the law forces the other side to pay your lawyer’s fees.

This is a big deal! It’s how a regular person can afford to fight a giant city government. It’s how we can afford to take these hard, expensive cases.

How Does a Lawyer Prove My Rights Were Violated?

You just have your story. The police have a report. It feels like a “he said, she said” situation.

A good lawyer’s job is to find the proof. This is what our team does every single day.

• We Find the Video: We immediately send “preservation letters” to get all the body cam footage, the dash cam video, and any cell phone videos.
• We Talk to Witnesses: We find the other people who saw what happened, and we get their story before the other side does.
• We Find the Paper Trail: We get the police reports, the internal affairs files, the jail medical records. We read every single page.
• We Hire Experts: We hire former police chiefs and use-of-force experts to testify that what the officer did was not reasonable.

This is how we build a case. We take your story and we back it up with so much evidence that it cannot be ignored.

Why Choose Huggins Law Firm for This Fight?

We are going to be very honest. These are the hardest cases to win.

The government, the police, and big companies have so many protections. They have armies of lawyers. They will try to drag your name through the mud. They will try to make you give up.

So why us? Because at Huggins Law Firm, we see the whole picture.

A legal problem is never just one problem. It spills over into your whole life.

• That false arrest? It’s a Criminal Law case that could cost you your freedom.
• That excessive force? It’s a Personal Injury case with real medical bills.
• The stress of it all? It can, sadly, lead to divorce or custody problems—a Family Law case.
• The time out of work? It can lead to a financial crisis where you need Bankruptcy protection.
• The whole time, you may be worried about your family’s future, which is an Estate Planning problem.

Our team is one of the few in the North Carolina Triad that has deep, real-world experience in all of these areas.

We don’t just see your “civil rights case.” We see you. We see your whole problem. And we can build a strategy to protect you on every single front. When you’re looking for the best lawyer near me in Greensboro or Winston-Salem, you’re looking for someone who “gets it.”

We get it.

We are proud to serve our neighbors in:

• Greensboro
• Graham
• Burlington
• Asheboro
• High Point
• Winston-Salem
• Kernersville

Key Takeaways: What to Remember

• Your Rights are Promises: A civil right is a promise from the government on how they will treat you.
• Section 1983 is Your Tool: This law lets you sue the government for violating your constitutional rights.
• Police Misconduct is a Violation: This includes excessive force, false arrest, and illegal searches.
• Denial is Normal. 7 out of 10 people are denied the first time. Don’t give up!
• You Have Rights at Work and at Home: You are protected from discrimination based on your race, religion, sex, disability, and more.
• Deadlines are REAL: The “Statute of Limitations” is a legal deadline. For discrimination, it can be as short as 180 days. For police misconduct, it’s often 3 years. Do not wait.
• You Can Afford a Lawyer: In most civil rights cases, the other side has to pay your lawyer’s fees if you win. We take these cases on a contingency basis, meaning you pay us nothing out of your pocket.

Contact Us Today. Your Voice Deserves to Be Heard.

This is a lot of information. You don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to know that you don’t have to take this.

Call our team. Sit down with us for a free, 100% confidential consultation. Let’s talk about what happened. Let us help you find the best path forward.

Contact Huggins Law Firm Today