Civil Rights
May 21, 2026
The right to understand: Communication access and lawful state action in the digital age
As healthcare, crisis response and public systems increasingly rely on digital infrastructure, California's next civil rights challenge may center on whether meaningful communication and comprehension remain legal prerequisites before institutions can lawfully act on vulnerable individuals.
K. Chike Odiwe
Civil Rights Attorney
The Law Offices of Kenneth C. Odiwe, PC
2880 Zanker Road, Ste 203
San Jose , CA 95134
Fax: (669) 315-4431
California built modern civil rights law around a basic idea: before institutions act against a person, that person should understand what is happening to them. That principle once lived mostly inside courtrooms, police encounters and hospitals. Today, it reaches much further.
Healthcare increasingly operates through technology before human interaction ever begins. Patients schedule appointments through apps. They review test results through portals. The...
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