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Bray V. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic: The Supreme Court's Next Opportunity To Unsettle Civil Rights Law, Randolph M. Mclaughlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The legislative history of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 is scrutinized to determine the factual predicate that led to the enactment of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) and the classes Congress sought to protect under its provisions. The legislative history is also analyzed to determine which rights Congress sought to protect in § 1985(3). Part III discusses the Supreme Court's misinterpretation of the statute and attempts to provide guidance as to the proper outcome in Bray.