CIVIL RIGHTS POLICIES, ANALYSIS, AND RESOURCES
Latest Civil Rights Posts
U.S. Department of Justice Closes Legal Aid Unit
On February 1, 2018, numerous media outlets reported that an office of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) – the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) – was reassigning its personnel and that other services were being rolled back significantly. According to its website, the office was established in March 2010 to “address the…
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau De-emphasizes Racial Discrimination Investigations
On January 30, 2018, Acting Director Mick Mulvaney of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced to staff that he would transfer the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity (OFLEO) from the Division of Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending (SEFL) to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Fairness…
Reversing Obama-Era Regulation That Combats Housing Segregation
The Trump administration is trying to eliminate the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule started by President Obama. The AFFH is a legal requirement that federal agencies and federal grantees further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, this means asking communities that receive Department of Housing…
The Three Approaches To Saving Net Neutrality
On January 16, 2018, a lawsuit was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by attorney generals of twenty-one states and the District of Columbia. The petition will seek to prevent the enforcement of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) “Restoring Internet Freedom” order that overturned…
The House of Representatives Vote on Extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Proposed Privacy Protections For Americans
On January 11, 2018, the House of Representatives voted on two bills regarding warrantless surveillance programs in the United States. S.139, popularly known as the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 was approved by the House by a vote of 256 – 164. That bill reauthorizes FISA for an additional six years and does…
President Trump’s “Election Fraud” Commission [UPDATED]
On January 3, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order terminating the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. President Trump had created the commission last year to investigate whether there were instances of voter fraud and of non – citizens voting in U.S. elections. The Commission was viewed…
The Use of Search Warrants And Cellphone Location Tracking Information
Carpenter v. United States is a case before the current term of the United States Supreme Court that is examining the issue of whether a warrantless search of cell phone records, including the location of and movement of the cell phone user, is a violation of a person’s Fourth Amendment right against an unreasonable search. Timothy…
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Plan To Overturn 2015 Net Neutrality Rules [UPDATED]
On April 26, 2017, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced a vote scheduled for May 2017 to decide whether to overturn FCC rules adopted on February 26, 2015, more commonly known as Net Neutrality regulations. The regulations established that broadband providers may…
United States Attorney General Jeff Session’s Law Enforcement Memorandum [UPDATED]
On March 31, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum to Department of Justice attorneys promoting support for federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement authorities. The Attorney General pledged the resources of the Department of Justice in order to “promote a peaceful and lawful…