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Nov 12, 2018 · Why Jeff Sessions’ Final Act Could Have More Impact Than Expected — ProPublica. Just before he left, the departing attorney-general adopted a policy to limit the Justice Department’s...
Nov 14, 2018 · Sessions, however, had long opposed the federal police oversight and the consent decrees—long-term reform plans supervised and enforced by a federal judge—that defined DOJ's approach during the Obama years. In his view, they undermine law enforcement and amount to improper federal meddling in state and local affairs.
- Historical Background
- The Garland Memo
- Looking Forward
Pattern-or-practice investigations are civil tools that aim to root out police departments' systemic problems rather than those caused by individual officers or incidents. Through legislation that arose from the aftermath of the Rodney King riots, DOJ is authorized to sue any law enforcement entity that engages in "pattern or practice of conduct . ...
AG Garland's memo addresses the contexts in which Congress has authorized DOJ to file lawsuits against state and local governmental entities to obtain legal and equitable relief to remedy violations of federal law. These include ensuring constitutional policing practices, eliminating discriminatory housing practices, guarding voting rights, and red...
In light of this history and AG Garland's recent memo, consent decrees and settlement agreements are likely to return in force under the Biden Administration. During his campaign, then-candidate Biden pressed for a revival of pattern-and-practice investigations and consent decrees, and the pending nominations of Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke rein...
One of the biggest criticisms of the federal reform process, which is reflected in the Sessions memo, is that it depresses officer morale, and leads to “de-policing,” whereby police stop ...
Nov 30, 2018 · His primary target? Consent decrees, which aim to bring oversight to local police departments with historical patterns of discriminatory policing and improper use of force.
- Max Felker-Kantor
Nov 8, 2018 · Nov. 8, 2018. WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions has drastically limited the ability of federal law enforcement officials to use court-enforced agreements to overhaul local...
Nov 9, 2018 · As one of his final moves in office before resigning Wednesday, outgoing Attorney General Jeff Sessions severely limited the Justice Department's ability to enter into court-enforced...
