department of justice
-
Trump’s DOJ Civil Rights Pick Defended Corporations Against … Discrimination
Last week, President Donald Trump put forth his nominee to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, giving many social justice and LGBTQ activists major pause. Eric Dreiband, a Washington, D.C.-based labor attorney, served as general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President George W. Bush. He has also made a career of…
-
US Department of Justice Opens Investigation Into the Fatal Shooting of Jordan Edwards
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the police shooting death of Jordan Edwards, an unarmed black teenager, in Balch Springs, Texas, a spokesperson for the local district attorney’s office confirmed Thursday. Now former Balch Springs Police Officer Roy Oliver, 37, is facing murder charges in connection with the April 29 shooting…
-
Baton Rouge, La., Police Officers Will Not Be Charged in Alton Sterling’s Death: Report
The Justice Department has decided not to charge the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, according to the Washington Post. Sterling was shot July 5, 2016, after someone called to complain that Sterling was selling CDs out of a car in the parking lot of the Triple S Food Mart and had…
-
Justice Department May Reopen Its Investigation Into Murder of Emmett Till
The investigation into the 1955 murder of Emmett Till may once again be reopened by the U.S. Department of Justice, with the news coming just a week after Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressed his support for pursuing and prosecuting those involved in the killing who went unpunished. “He said no one gets a pass,” Emmett’s…
-
23 People File Complaint Asking Justice Department to Begin Criminal Probe of Its Boss
A complaint sent to the U.S. Department of Justice Monday alleges that Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his communications with the Russian government and later tried to cover up the lie, and asks the department to launch a criminal inquiry of its boss. The complaint names…
-
Trump’s DOJ to Drop Charge Texas Voter-ID Law Is Intentionally Discriminatory
I would say this current administration is looking funny in the light, but truth be told, it was looking funny in the dark to begin with. And now, on Monday, in a huge reversal, the Justice Department under the Trump administration has decided to drop the department’s position that Republican state lawmakers pushed Texas’ strict…
-
Justice Department Settles Discrimination Claim Against Denver Sheriff's Department
The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement Tuesday resolving a claim that the Denver Sheriff’s Department discriminated against immigrants in its hiring policies, a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). An investigation by the Justice Department found that from approximately Jan. 1, 2015, until approximately March 23, 2016, the Denver Sheriff’s Department…
-
#NoDAPL: ACLU Asks DOJ to Investigate Law-Enforcement Response to Protesters
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday asking for an investigation into possible violations of constitutional rights and federal laws by law enforcement responding to peaceful #NoDAPL protesters in North Dakota. The letter, addressed to Principal Deputy…
-
Justice Department Replaces NYC Team Investigating Eric Garner's Death
The Department of Justice has overhauled the Eric Garner investigative team, replacing the New York team of agents and lawyers looking into his 2014 death, the New York Times reports. The move, which the Times describes as a “highly unusual shake-up,” could put some steam into the long-stalled case and possibly put the department back on…
-
Department of Justice to Begin Collecting Data on Use of Force by Police
The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it will begin collecting data on deadly police encounters nationwide, starting early next year, the New York Times reports. As the report notes, it marks the beginning of the most ambitious effort the federal government has ever made to track police use of force, coming after the nation…