In 1980, I was honored to work for St. John Barrett, a/k/a "Slim" Barrett who was the first Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights from 1957-1967. During 1980, I was his antitrust paralegal at the corporate law firm of Barnett, Alagia & Carey in Washington, D.C.
SJB once told me a story about the October 5, 1958 Clinton High School Bombing. Defense lawyers for John Kasper and other racist contemnors complained to U.S. District Court Judge Robert L Taylor, a 1949 appointee of President Truman, about crowded jail conditions. Judge Taylor responded, "I don't care if you have to pile them up like cordwood, until their feet stick out the windows!"
From Reuters:
Ex-employees of US Justice Department blast 'destruction' of civil rights unit
The seal of the U.S. Justice Department is seen on the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Purchase Licensing Rights
WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - More than 200 former employees of the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday criticized what they called the ongoing "destruction" of its Civil Rights Division, saying President Donald Trump's administration has abandoned the agency's mission of protecting vulnerable Americans.
In an open letter on the 68th anniversary of the division's creation, they alleged that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon have killed important cases intended to protect people from sexual harassment and assault, police brutality and voting inequities. They also accused leadership of changing how civil rights investigations are conducted by demanding they "find facts to fit the Administration's pre-determined outcomes."
"Most of us planned to stay at the division following the 2024 election. But after witnessing this Administration destroy much of our work, we made the heartbreaking decision to leave," they wrote in the letter, which was published by Justice Connection - an advocacy group for DOJ employees founded by a former division attorney. "Now, we must sound the alarm about the near destruction of DOJ’s once-revered crown jewel."
The Civil Rights Division was established by the 1957 Civil Rights Act. The law was originally enacted to help undo discriminatory Jim Crow racial segregation and protect the voting rights of Black people.
In a statement responding to the letter, a Justice Department spokesperson said that Bondi and Dhillon have helped restore the division to its "original mission" of protecting the rights of all Americans and accused the Biden administration of targeting political opponents, without providing evidence.
on the 68th anniversary of the division's creation, they alleged that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon have killed important cases intended to protect people from sexual harassment and assault, police brutality and voting inequities. They also accused leadership of changing how civil rights investigations are conducted by demanding they "find facts to fit the Administration's pre-determined outcomes."
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