justice department
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What Does the Justice Department Look Like Under a President Trump?
Throughout his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump stressed the need for more law enforcement in America, and under his direction, the Justice Department could see a drastic shift in priorities that would reinforce those ideals. Under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department built an aggressive Civil Rights Division, but according to legal analysts and Trump’s public…
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#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…
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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…
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Justice Department Announces Investigation Into Ala. Prison Conditions
The U.S. Department of Justice will be conducting an investigation into the conditions at Alabama’s prisons for men, it announced in a statement Thursday. “The investigation will focus on whether prisoners are adequately protected from physical harm and sexual abuse at the hands of other prisoners; whether prisoners are adequately protected from use of excessive…
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Justice Department’s Head of National Security Division Stepping Down
The head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division is stepping down next month to pursue a career in the private sector, the Washington Post reports. John P. Carlin, 43, is the youngest and longest-serving head of the NSD. He oversaw the prosecution arising out of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and his department initiated…
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Justice Department, State of Okla. Launch Investigation Into Death of Terence Crutcher
Oklahoma has launched a criminal investigation into the police officer who shot and killed Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man who was seen on video walking with his hands in the air, Reuters reports. Tulsa, Okla., Police Officer Betty Shelby fatally shot Crutcher, 40, after his vehicle broke down Friday. Authorities have said that Crutcher…
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5 Reasons Why DOJ Probes of Police Shootings Have No Teeth
It’s become a routine American pastime: the spotlight of a federal Justice Department probe into grisly police killings of unarmed black people. Once you’ve seen those pixelated smartphone or half-working body-camera videos spreading like brushfire on social media, it’s safe to expect next an announcement from the U.S. attorney general. Like the iconic bat signal for…
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Baltimore’s Reaction to the DOJ Report: ‘Well, Duh’
The only people who weren’t surprised by the 164-page Department of Justice report on the Baltimore Police Department’s rampant brutality were black residents of Baltimore City whose protests and complaints have fallen on deaf ears for years. “The phrase ‘a few bad apples’ should now be banished from conversations about law enforcement in Baltimore,” said the…
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Justice Department to Seek Death Penalty Against Alleged Charleston, SC, Church Shooter
The Justice Department will seek the death penalty against Dylann Roof, ABC News reports. Roof, 22, faces 33 counts of federal hate crime and firearm charges in the 2015 massacre of nine black worshippers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. “Following the department’s rigorous review process to thoroughly consider all relevant factual…