Defamation Law Made Simple. Learn the basics of slander and libel -- the rules about who can say what without getting into legal hot water. Defamation is a catch-all term for any statement that hurts someone's reputation. Defamation is not a crime, but it is a tort (a civil wrong, rather than a criminal wrong).
By Michael Arnheim from U.S. Constitution For Dummies. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
Equal Protection Clause. The Equal Protection Clause is part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.