I’ve heard of the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, but not the color of the law. Is that what Pocahontas was singing about? Or is it some weird triumvirate of bureaucracy? In the name of the Letter, the Color, and the Holy Spirit of the Law?
I know it exists, because of an album I love called “under color of official right,” and I heard the singer talking about where the name came from, some Detroit politician was charged “under color of official right.”
But here’s the legalpedia definition of “color of law:”
Color of law refers to the appearance of legal authority or an apparently legal right that may not exist. The term is often used to describe the abuse of power under the guise of state authority, and is therefore illegal. The term was used in the Civil Rights Act of 1871, where the color of law was synonymous with state action and referred to an official whose conduct was so closely associated with a state that the conduct was deemed to be the action of that state. The Act grants citizens the right to sue government officials and their agents for using their power to violate civil rights. An example is the history of redlining, which can be seen in this map from Syracuse, New York.
I’ve heard of the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, but not the color of the law. Is that what Pocahontas was singing about? Or is it some weird triumvirate of bureaucracy? In the name of the Letter, the Color, and the Holy Spirit of the Law?
I know it exists, because of an album I love called “under color of official right,” and I heard the singer talking about where the name came from, some Detroit politician was charged “under color of official right.”
But here’s the legalpedia definition of “color of law:”
🎵You can own the Earth and still
All you’ll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the
windlaw🎵