Thursday, September 03, 2009
Eric Holder
After enduring years of what critics called neglect on the part of the Bush administration, the Department of Justice under Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. is planning to bolster its civil rights division. For starters, Holder intends to add 50 new lawyers to the civil rights office, a substantial increase. With the added manpower, the office is expected to be more aggressive in going after policies of businesses or local governments that violate civil rights law.
Conservatives have criticized the moves by the Obama administration, claiming the Justice Department is doing what Bush appointees were accused of—namely, politicizing the civil rights unit. They cite the downsizing of a voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party, an investigation of an Arizona sheriff for unfairly enforcing immigration laws against Hispanics, and blocking a new rule requiring Georgia voters to prove their citizenship.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Justice Department to Recharge Civil Rights Enforcement (by Charlie Savage, New York Times)
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