U.S. Department of Justice CRT All Civil Rights Division News Update (Oct. 2021)

The Justice Department announced it resolved a civil rights review of the South Dakota Unified Judicial System (UJS) that will improve access to state courts for people with limited English proficiency (LEP).

A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today charging a former Tennessee supervisory corrections officer with federal civil rights and obstruction offenses. The defendant is charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for using unlawful force on an inmate; one count for being deliberately indifferent to the inmate’s medical needs; and one count of obstructing justice.

Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Grassley, and Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, my name is Kristen Clarke and I serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the department’s work to implement and enforce the Voting Rights Act and the need to revitalize and restore the Act.

Yesterday, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra co-hosted a listening session with stakeholders on the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which was signed into law by President Biden on May 20. Under the legislation, the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and community-based organizations, are required to issue guidance aimed at raising awareness of hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The session was moderated by Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.

The Justice Department announced today that it will not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against a Kenosha Police Department (KPD) officer for his involvement in the Aug. 23, 2020, shooting of 30-year-old Jacob Blake.