Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez and U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner today visited the Islamic Center of Davis to discuss civil rights and other issues of concern to the Muslim American community. Perez and Wagner addressed the congregation and answered questions during their visit, which is part of the Justice Department’s outreach initiative to enhance engagement with Muslim and Arab-American communities around the country.  Perez recently met with Muslim leaders in Detroit, Nashville and Roanoke.   

During the visit, Perez remarked; 

“The Department is committed to responding forcefully to recent incidents of anti-Muslim discrimination and hate crimes. I look forward to a constructive dialogue with the Arab-American and Muslim communities on how best to confront these issues.”

Wagner said:

“Muslim Americans, like all Americans, deserve the full protection of federal law, including civil rights laws. By hearing directly from members of the community about their concerns, we can be more effective in safeguarding their rights and protecting them from crime. I look forward to expanding my office’s engagement with the Muslim communities of this region.”

Othman Alsaoud, president of the Islamic Center of Davis said of the visit:

“It was an honor to be visited today by our esteemed guests Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez and US Attorney Benjamin Wagner. We all benefit from learning from each other and look forward to a good relationship in the future.  The Muslim community appreciates the outreach program of the US Attorney’s office; today’s visit by Mr. Perez and Mr. Wagner is yet another step toward building bridges of friendship and cooperation between Muslim Americans and US law enforcement.”

Guided by the goal of protecting our common security and our common values – a respect for civil liberties, an embrace of diversity and a commitment to religious freedom — Attorney General Eric Holder last year established an Arab and Muslim-American Engagement Advisory Group. This group coordinates and reviews policy initiatives that affect the community as well as the enhanced outreach efforts by various department components, including the Civil Rights Division, several U.S. Attorney’s Offices and FBI representatives.

The Department has been active in engaging with various communities, including the Muslim and Arab-American communities, to promote community law enforcement collaboration and to ensure the protection of civil rights and religious freedoms.  The Attorney General has also met with Arab and Muslim-American community leaders in Washington, D.C. and across the country to discuss the federal government’s relationship with the Arab and Muslim-American community and to improve the department’s communication and collaboration with members of the community. 

Here are some examples of the Division’s enforcement actions that combat discrimination against the Arab and Muslim-American communities:

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Attorney General Eric Holder has long spoken about America’s crisis in indigent defense.  The vast majority of criminal defendants in the United States are poor, yet there is insufficient funding and resources to meet their legal needs.  Given this shortage, it is critical to develop evidence-based research that identifies practices that  help to guarantee every person’s fundamental right to counsel and due process.  Earlier this week, the Department of Justice’s Access to Justice Initiative (ATJ) and the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) International Center jointly sponsored a workshop to help identify the best of these practices. 

The purpose of the  workshop was to identify both domestic and international best practices for representing low-income defendants and to devise a robust research agenda on criminal indigent defense in the United States.  The 40-person group consisted of leading experts drawn from multidisciplinary communities, including domestic and international practitioners, researchers, advocates and government officials.  People came from nine countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland.

The workshop was a timely successor to the Department’s recent celebration of Robert F. Kennedy’s achievements and enduring legacy.  In his welcoming remarks, Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli reminded participants of Kennedy’s commitment to developing quality public defense systems and safeguarding the rights of indigent defendants.  The Associate  Attorney General reaffirmed, through the words of Kennedy himself, that indigent defense is a moral imperative:

“The poor man charged with crime has no lobby. Ensuring fairness and equal treatment in criminal trials is the responsibility of us all.” 

Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson further emphasized that the issue is a crucial one for the Attorney General, stating that the defense bar is central to a strong justice system.

Recently retired Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court delivered the workshop’s keynote address.  Born and raised in South Africa, Chief Justice Marshall was a leader in student-led anti-apartheid efforts.  Appointed as the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1999, she led the court in making significant progress in guaranteeing adequate representation for indigent defendants.  In her remarks, she challenged participants to work together to not only identify ways to improve the circumstances faced by indigent defendants, but to raise the quality of that defense to the same caliber as that of a defendant  with means. 

Topics discussed at the workshop included:

• The state of indigent defense in the United States;
• Costs associated with being indigent in the criminal justice system;
• Improvements to the provision of defender services to juveniles and to poor people;
• The intersection of indigent defense and immigration; and
• Indigent defense in indigenous communities.

Panelists from around the world and with a variety of perspectives gave thought-provoking presentations that informed a rigorous discussion. The workshop culminated in participants prioritizing specific, actionable measures aimed at improving indigent defense in the United States.  The report that will be generated from this workshop in the next six months will be used to inform ATJ’s priorities and NIJ’s future research agenda on indigent defense, including which alternative, international practices ATJ and NIJ might study to determine their viability domestically.

For more information on the Access to Justice Initiative, visit:  justice.gov/access

For more information on the National Institute for Justice, visit: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/

The following post appears courtesy of Susan B. Carbon, Director, Office on Violence Against Women

By re-establishing the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women, Attorney General Eric Holder is bringing together a group of people who are committed to sharing their expertise, knowledge and advice to improve the Nation’s response to violence against women.  The first meeting, held January 28, brought this group together for their initial introductions, presentations and small group discussions.

The 15-member committee provides advice to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on responses to domestic violence and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking crimes, with a focus on children and teens who are affected by the violence.

The diversity of the group will contribute to various viewpoints and expert opinions focusing on successful interventions with children and teens who witness and/or are victimized by intimate partners and sexual violence and the link between the well-being of children and mothers.  Working to end violence in families and in communities remains one of the Attorney General’s highest priorities. 

In 2010, he launched the Defending Childhood initiative with the goal of preventing children’s exposure to violence, mitigating the negative impacts of exposure when it does occur, and developing knowledge and spreading awareness about the issue. 

When the Violence Against Women Act was enacted over 16 years ago, we recognized that to confront the issues of domestic and sexual violence, meaningful collaborative partnerships between advocates, educators, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, the judiciary, medical and mental health professionals and community leaders were required.   This is why it is so beneficial to have the NAC – with its myriad disciplines – to explore the next steps and new directions with the goal of breaking the cycle of violence that plagues so many children and youth.

We are grateful to the commitment of each of the committee members for sharing their time and expertise to provide practical and policy guidance to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services and strengthen our work as we move forward.  The membership of the committee consists of:  Jeffrey L. Edleson, St. Paul, MN;  Maria Jose Fletcher, Miami, FL;  Neil Irvin, Washington, DC; Amber Johnson, Providence,  RI; Monika Johnson Hostler, Raleigh, NC; Debbie Lee, San Francisco, CA; Susan Manheimer, San Mateo, CA;  Betsy McAlister Groves, Boston, MA; Carol Post, Wilmington, DE;  Francine Sherman, Newton, MA;  Melvin Stoof, Tucson, AZ; Joe Torre, New York, NY; Jerry Tello, Hacienda Heights, CA, Gabrielle Union, Beverly Hills, CA; Sujata Warrier, New York, NY.

More information about the National Advisory Committee and its members is available at http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/

When James Meredith finally enrolled at the University of Mississippi in 1962, it was John Doar who escorted him to the registrar’s office.  When tensions between protestors and police in Jackson, Mississippi, following the murder of Medgar Evers reached a near-boiling point, it was John Doar who physically stepped between them, placing himself in harm’s way, to diffuse the situation. And when 19 men were prosecuted in 1967 in Neshoba County, Mississippi, for the murders of three civil rights workers, it was John Doar who represented the federal government in court.

 On Tuesday morning, the Justice Department welcomed former Assistant Attorney General John Doar to the Great Hall for a ceremony commemorating the history and legacy of the Civil Rights Division. Mr. Doar addressed Civil Rights Division staff, as well as staff from other Department components, about the Division’s origins in 1957 and the pivotal role it played in advancing and protecting civil rights in the 1960s, particularly its work to secure voting rights for African Americans in the South.

 Deputy Attorney General James Cole introduced Mr. Doar, noting that Mr. Doar led the Division during some of the most difficult times in the nation’s struggle for civil rights.  Of the Division’s role in the civil rights era, Deputy Attorney General Cole said: 

The Civil Rights Division’s history is intertwined with the history of America’s progress toward fulfilling the promise of its highest ideals – the ideals of freedom and justice for all.  It was at the forefront of the nation’s struggle to move beyond the legacy of discrimination and ensure the basic rights to equality in housing, education, employment, and above all, the right to vote.

 Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez organized Tuesday’s event to give current Division and Department staff an opportunity to hear from some of the veterans of the Division who laid the groundwork for so much of the civil rights progress that has been made in the last half century.  Assistant Attorney General Perez said:

 As time passes, as new staff members join our ranks and veterans take their leave, it is easy to forget our roots – to forget the pivotal role that the Division and its dedicated staff and attorneys played in some of the most important moments of our nation’s struggle for equal justice and civil rights.  And without understanding where we came from, it’s impossible for us to understand where we still need to go.

In addition to Mr. Doar’s address, the event featured a panel discussion with:  the Honorable Linda Kay Davis, Superior Court Judge of the District of Columbia and former Section Chief in the Division’s Criminal Section; James P. Turner, former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Division; Loretta King, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Division; and John L. Wodatch, Section Chief in the Division’s Disability Rights Section.

The following is posted on behalf of Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

 The Obama Administration has been aggressive in its fraud-fighting efforts, and it is paying off.  Last year resulted in the largest annual recovery of Medicare and Medicaid dollars in U.S. history.  More than $4 billion stolen from federal health care programs was recovered in Fiscal Year 2010 and returned to the Medicare Health Insurance Trust Fund, the Treasury, and other government programs.

 Through the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, or HEAT, and Medicare Fraud Strike Force prosecution teams, we are making it clear to wrong-doers that fraud will no longer pay.  For example, in fiscal year 2010, 140 indictments involving charges were filed against 284 defendants who collectively billed the Medicare program more than $590 million.  And 146 defendants were sentenced for an average of more than 40 months. 

 And we are working to get support from those that Medicare fraud affects the most – seniors and taxpayers. 

 Today, HHS is also announcing new rules and resources to help stop health care fraud.  Through the Affordable Care Act, we are able to do less “paying-and-chasing” of health care claims and are better able to stop fraud from occurring in the first place, preventing the loss of taxpayer dollars for millions of Americans. 

 For more information on the Obama Administration’s efforts to fight Medicare fraud, visit StopMedicareFraud.gov.

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy meets with advisors in his office at The Justice Department.

Earlier today, on the 50th anniversary of his swearing-in as Attorney General, the Department of Justice came together to celebrate the achievements and enduring contributions of Robert F. Kennedy.  Joined by Kennedy family members, including his wife, Ethel Kennedy, renowned civil rights leaders, historians and current and former Justice Department employees this event commemorated the life and service of our nation’s 64th Attorney General.

Attorney General Eric Holder reflected on the enduring legacy of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, noting:

No one can doubt how Robert Francis Kennedy chose to use the law when he was Attorney General.  He taught us that law can be a powerful force for good – if we are willing, as he was, to roll up our sleeves, to summon our courage and our best efforts, and to lead from the front lines of change. 

In doing just that, Attorney General Kennedy championed the cause of the least among us – and made our nation more just, more fair, and more humane.  He was not afraid to dream a better world and to act to create it.

However, the Attorney General also pointed to the work left still to do:

In his first speech as Attorney General, Robert Kennedy argued that the time for apathy had long since passed; that it was time to, “[prove] to the world that we really mean it when we say that all men are created free and equal before the law.”

“All of us,” he said, “might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world – but we don’t.  And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.”

Despite all that’s been accomplished in recent decades, we – still – do not live in tranquil times.  We continue to face difficulty, injustice, division, and an array of challenges that can serve to sharpen our skills, steel our resolve, focus our energy, and impel us to action.

In times like these, the importance of Robert Kennedy’s work becomes ever clearer…
So, as we celebrate Robert Kennedy’s life and his impact on this Department, let us also commit ourselves to carrying on – and carrying out – his mission to make gentle the life of this world, and to make good on the promise of our nation.  Let us answer his call, “to face up to our nation’s problems and live up to its founding principles.”  And let us heed the wisdom of his extraordinary example.

In marking this special anniversary, the Justice Department is pleased to release a selection of historic photos from the Department’s archives. These images capture Attorney General Kennedy at work in the Department, at home with his family, and in public with people from all corners of the globe.

Also, for the first time, the Department of Justice library has compiled and digitized a collection of Robert F. Kennedy’s statements and speeches from his tenure as Attorney General. These speeches, from 1961 to 1964 provide a window into the world of the Justice Department during that time.

Related Resources:

• Speeches of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, 1961-1964
• Photos of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, from the Justice Department archives.
• Attorney General Holder’s full remarks at the event to honor Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy
• Press release from the “A Life of Service. A Legacy of Justice.” event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the swearing in of Robert F. Kennedy as Attorney General.