What is one way that civil rights legislation affected the distribution of power among the different levels of government

Answer 1

Hi Tariq. I think most Constitutional scholars would agree that civil rights legislation, and the ensuing conflicts between states and the federal government over the implementation of these rights, dramatically increased the power of the Judicial Branch of government. As some states worked hard to get around the stipulations of the various civil rights laws enacted by the legislative branch, SCOTUS increasingly found itself having to interpret that legislation and use their authority to "incorporate" - force the states to abide by the requirements of the law, per the Supremacy Clause in the Constitution. So I would say that increasing the power of the judicial branch would be the most significant way that civil rights legislation changed the balance of power between the three branches. I have attached a link to a great discussion that might also help you -

https://www.c-span.org/video/?452005-3/separation-powers-civil-rights