Civil Rights Leaders Call for Renewed Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws under Next Adm

[Moorbey]

Civil Rights Leaders Call for Renewed Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws under Next Administration

Feature Story from civilrights.org
Alexander Botting
July 9, 2008

In light of the Bush administration's abysmal record on the federal enforcement of civil rights laws, the civil rights community is calling for a renewed commitment to enforcement from the next administration.

At a June 13 panel discussion at the American Constitution Society national convention, civil rights leaders and legal experts outlined what they felt the next presidential administration should do to reinvigorate the federal government's enforcement of civil rights laws, particularly with respect to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. The Civil Rights Division is responsible for enforcing federal laws related to discrimination.

This lack of enforcement of civil rights laws can be seen in the fact that the Civil Rights Division under the Bush administration pursued a total of 32 employment discrimination cases during the first six years of its term. In comparison, 34 cases were filed in just the first two years of the Clinton administration, according to a March 2007 report from the Citizen's Commission on Civil Rights and the Center for American Progress. During a September 2007 oversight hearing, House members described the Department of Justice's record in this area as "dismal" and "inexcusable".

The Department of Justice's lack of enforcement is not limited to employment cases. The department filed just 48 objections to voting rule changes between 2001 and 2006, compared with 579 filed between 1991 and 1996. Changes to election or voting rules must be pre-approved by the Department of Justice in certain states and jurisdictions with a history of discrimination.

Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said that the new administration should ensure that the Civil Rights Division dedicates their resources to "stamping out" instances of discrimination. Henderson also said that the new administration should restore the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to its former prestige and importance and also work to ensure that new legislation is enacted to protect the gay and lesbian community from discrimination.

The panelists also identified a number of characteristics that the next President should look for in an attorney general in order to restore the Department of Justice's reputation and credibility. The attorney general is the head of the Department of Justice.

Walter E. Dellinger, a former acting solicitor general during the Clinton Administration, said that the attorney general should be somebody "of true accomplishment in the field." Jamie Gorelick, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, said that "you need stature and knowledge" to fill the role.

Wade Henderson said that the next attorney general needs "a dash of leadership and inspiration to show [that] the Department of Justice is back in business."

Civil rights groups are also hoping that the new administration will take a bipartisan approach to staffing the Department of Justice. Jamie Gorelick declared that, "The department only functioned well when the career lawyers had a voice and were actively consulted."

Wade Henderson commented that the new administration must show a commitment to enforcing the laws by "hiring lawyers based on their talent and not ideology."