by Del Quentin Wilbur

November 18, 2016

 

Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department’s civil rights division was rebuilt into what former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. called the agency’s “crown jewel.”

But many civil rights advocates and legal scholars voiced concern Friday that the unit faces an uncertain future under the leadership of President-elect Donald Trump and his pick to be the next attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

They predict the Justice Department in the coming years will be less likely to sue states over voting restrictions that target the poor or minorities, to hold police departments accountable for abuses or fight in court for the rights of transgender people.

Also vulnerable are Justice Department guidelines set under President Obama that sought more lenient sentences for nonviolent offenders and restricted racial profiling and surveillance of Muslims.

 

Full article: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-justice-department-trump-20161117-story.html