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.
Port Jervis is a city in Orange County, New York. The population was 8,860 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. The city of Port Jervis includes the point where the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania adjoin. Port Jervis, then a part of Deerpark, was a port on the former Delaware and Hudson Canal. It is also known as the "River City. " The town is named in honor of John B. Jervis (believed by some to actually be Jarvis), the chief engineer on the canal. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis. The towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the city across the respective state borders. Port Jervis is the home of the last stop on the 95-mile-long (151 km) Port Jervis Line, which is a commuter railroad line from Hoboken, New Jersey and New York City that is contracted to NJ Transit by the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company (the line itself continues on to Binghamton and Buffalo, but passenger service beyond Port Jervis was discontinued in 1966).