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March 12th, 2013 at 5:17 pm
Extreme Hostility Against Race-Neutral Law Enforcement

Below is a section of the IG report on the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, amply confirming longstanding allegations by Christian Adams, Chris Coates, Hans von Spakovsky, and others that the division is full of people who are openly hostile to the very notion that civil rights laws merit race-neutral enforcement. The section is chilling.

B. Treatment of Members of the Noxubee Case Team (2006-07)
As discussed in detail in Chapter Three, in 2006 the Voting Section filed
a complaint under Sections 2 and 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act against the
Noxubee County (Mississippi) Democratic Election Committee and its
chairman, Ike Brown. The Noxubee case was developed and litigated by thenSpecial Litigation Counsel Christopher Coates along with two trial attorneys
and an intern. This was the Department’s first lawsuit under Section 2 of the
VRA against Black defendants alleging denial or abridgment of the rights of
White voters on account of race. Numerous witnesses told us that there was
widespread opposition to the Noxubee case among the Voting Section career
staff because it was being brought against Black defendants on behalf of White
voters. We found that as a result of their hostility to the Noxubee case, some
career staff harassed a Black Voting Section intern who volunteered to travel to
Mississippi to assist the trial team, and mocked Coates for his work on the
case.
The intern told the OIG that two career Voting Section employees made
disparaging comments directly to him about his involvement in the trial. In
particular, the intern recalled being questioned directly and indirectly about
why he participated in this trial and told the OIG that Voting Section personnel
made comments like: “You know why they asked you to go down there,” “They
used you as a token,” and “People are saying, ‘Why did you go down there?’”
According to a memorandum drafted by Section management summarizing the
incidents, the intern told a Section manager that the Voting Section employees
informed him that someone who was attending the trial was reporting his
activities and, therefore, the employees knew exactly where he was sitting in
the courtroom and what he did at the trial.
Section Chief Tanner subsequently announced that files on one of the drives would be locked
to prevent employees from accessing such documents without permission. It appears that the
decision to lock the computer files most likely resulted from the discovery of what the team
member had done. However, we were unable to question Tanner regarding this matter because
he refused to be interviewed by the OIG.
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B. Treatment of Members of the Noxubee Case Team (2006-07)

As discussed in detail in Chapter Three, in 2006 the Voting Section filed a complaint under Sections 2 and 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act against the Noxubee County (Mississippi) Democratic Election Committee and its chairman, Ike Brown. The Noxubee case was developed and litigated by thenSpecial Litigation Counsel Christopher Coates along with two trial attorneys and an intern. This was the Department’s first lawsuit under Section 2 of the VRA against Black defendants alleging denial or abridgment of the rights of White voters on account of race. Numerous witnesses told us that there was widespread opposition to the Noxubee case among the Voting Section career staff because it was being brought against Black defendants on behalf of White voters. We found that as a result of their hostility to the Noxubee case, some career staff harassed a Black Voting Section intern who volunteered to travel to Mississippi to assist the trial team, and mocked Coates for his work on the case.

The intern told the OIG that two career Voting Section employees made disparaging comments directly to him about his involvement in the trial. In particular, the intern Read more…