Correction of existing reaserch (English Composition)

Research Paper draft

Have changes implemented by the Trump era Justice Department affected civil rights and if so, how have civil rights been affected?

Ayala Layen-Slann

Prof. Jean, Adeline Bernadette

ENC-1101-OL2: COMPOSITION

St. Thomas University

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 2

For decades, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has used court-enforced agreements to

protect civil rights, successfully desegregating school systems, reforming police departments,

ensuring access for the disabled and defending religious freedom (Huseman and Waldman 2017).

In 2016 the many of the new first-time voters exercised their right to vote, hoping to be able to

see how “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, 1776) take place in a free and

democratic country.

Since the election in November 2016, the general concept is that the country is in a

continued ride on a roller-coaster where many core values are compromised, and more conflicts

arise. In the following pages, a conflict of interest and how it affects the political, economic and

social system will be reviewed. Additionally, suggested approaches to this conflict of interest will

be reviewed as well.

The Office of the Attorney General was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789, as a part-

time position. By 1870, after the civil war, the Congress passed the act to establish the

Department of Justice with the Attorney General as its head. The DOJ mission as it is taken from

their website states ”To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to

the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership

in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful

behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.”(DOJ,

2018). There is no doubt that changes implemented by the Justice Department under President

Trump are having the overall effect of reducing the enforcement of civil rights laws.

On June 16, 2017, Elizabeth Hill, press secretary for the Department of Education told

ProPublica that the new “enforcement instructions seek to clear out the backlog while giving

every complaint the individualized and thorough consideration it deserves.” (Huseman and

Waldman 2017). The DOJ under Attorney General Jeff Sessions is now taking more of a light

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 3

approach towards enforcement of civil rights which results often in settlements and no continuing

court oversight.

There are numerous specific examples of the overall trend by the Trump / Sessions

Department of Justice to weaken civil rights. In just one six-day period in 2017, all the following

occurred: In cooperation with the Civil Rights office of the Department of Education, guidance

clarifying Title IX protections for transgender students was rescinded. Sessions withdrew a

Justice Department memo stating the goal of reducing and eventually ending the use of private

prisons. The Justice Department withdrew their opposition to a Texas Voter ID law after

previously prevailing in multiple federal courts which found the law to be racially

discriminatory. Despite this, the district court rejected the new position of the Sessions Justice

Department.(LCCH 2017).

Many agencies are now compromising and minimize their civil rights efforts due to the

weaker approach of the DOJ and the implied approval of their actions. For example, the new

leadership at the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed eliminating its environmental

justice program, which addresses pollution that poses health threats specifically concentrated in

minority communities (Eliperin, Brown & Fears, 2017). It can be argued that all the mentioned

points are leading to the unavoidable realization that there is major conflict between the DOJ’s

current approach and the essence of its existence.

Folger, Poole & Stutman defined conflict as the interaction of independent people who

perceive incompatibility and the possibility of interference from others as a result of this

incompatibility (Folger, Poole and Stutman 108-138). They also explained that conflicts are

influenced by different styles, background, framing, and views. Nevertheless, whether conflicts

occur on the individual, organizational, national or international level and whether it is between

individuals or entities, the goal and final outcomes should remain constructive.

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 4

Vanita Gupta, the former acting head of the DOJ civil rights department under the former

president stated “At best, this administration believes that civil rights enforcement is superfluous

and can be easily cut. At worst, it really is part of a systematic agenda to roll back civil rights,”

(Huseman and Waldman, 2017). This statement along with actions present a conflict of interest

regarding the actions of the DOJ. In their book “Conflict of Interest in the Professions”, Davis

and Stark refer to a conflict of interest as a conflict of interest that occurs when a person (P) or a

company are involved in multiple interests or decisions that “(1) P is in a relationship with

another requiring P to exercise judgment in the other's behalf and (2) P has a (special) interest

tending to interfere with the proper exercise of judgment in that relationship” (Davis and Stark 8).

One of the conflicted interests could become a source of corruption of the said person or

the company and this is when the circumstances caused by the conflicts create an unethical

situation. According to a press release from the US Commission on Civil Rights that was

published on June 16, 2017, the commission stated that it is especially concerned with the

“…these proposed cuts that would result in a dangerous reduction of civil rights enforcement

across the country, leaving communities of color, LGBT people, older people, people with

disabilities, and other marginalized groups exposed to greater risk of discrimination.” (U.S.

Commission on Civil Rights 1).

History shows that when there is little or no civil rights enforcement, the government

becomes overly powerful and a risk to democracy. Abraham Lincoln in his speech “Gettysburg

Address” defined the act of Democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the

people, shall not perish from the earth” (Lincoln 121). Democracy has become the first

political system that enthusiastically endorsed non-violence. It does so because of the widespread

economic and social benefits that non-violence brings and sustains. The risk is in creating a loop

of violence and power. By depressing minorities and allowing racism there is a risk of turning the

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 5

society into a violent one. The way to restrain violence is by enforcement of the law and equal

application of penalties in the justice system that does not unfairly hurt minorities. Unrestricted

power by government, at the local, state, or federal levels is damaging to the very people

government theoretically serve.

Current situation of civil rights compromising example that takes place now in Syria

where there is no value for civilians and civil rights. Iran is another example where once there

were some consideration for the rights of all had been including the right to life and has since

turned to a place with none. This is a result of a government who eliminated any sense of checks

and balances and where human lives have no weight.

It goes without saying that there are more resources and funds spent dealing with the

violence in an aggressive society than in a peaceful one. From a societal standpoint, civil wars

take place when there is a conflict between two groups who are in the oppressive-depressive

relationship. An example would be the US civil war in 1861. Asides from possible civil war,

when society recognizes a political conflict of interest, the public morale tends to decrease. After

all, these are the people's’ representatives and sometimes their actions betray the reason that they

were elected.

In March 2017, Attorney General Sessions issued a memo to all the heads of department

components and attorneys reviewing the consent decrees with troubled police departments

nationwide to ensure that they were in line with the current administration’s law-and-order goals.

In the same month, the DOJ had asked a judge to postpone a hearing on a consent decree with the

Baltimore Police Department that had been arranged during the last days of the Obama

administration (Huseman and Waldman 2017). Thankfully the judge denied the request and

ordered consent decrees to go into effect.

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 6

It is understood that when a new entity is elected to replace the previous one such as

government parties, firm owners, CEOs, and managers, there is an expectation for a new

leadership, new approach and sometimes changes. However, there is a consensus regarding

fundamental matters that concern, citizens, employees, and customers. Conflicts arise all the time.

Without conflicts society could have declared the world as the ultimate place called heaven. Since

reality shows that society did not reach Utopia yet, there is a strong need to know how to resolve

conflicts.

It is more important how to approach a conflict and how to handle it than getting it

resolved. Reaching solutions to conflicts is an important goal. More important, however, is for

strong relationships to be fostered and maintained that enable parties to repeatedly address and

resolve conflicts that they face. The ability to resolve conflicts is only as valuable as the ability to

resolve whatever the next conflict is.

Regarding the recent changes at the DOJ that have created a lack of interest in

aggressively addressing issues of civil rights, any potential solution in the short term is

complex. In the long term, only a change of administration will probably allow for proper

protection of civil rights. Part of the solution currently is for government watchdog groups to

identify the most egregious civil rights violations and bring lawsuits on behalf of the victims to

protect their civil rights. These lawsuits will at times be targeted at local entities such as rogue

police departments and at other times the target may be the DOJ itself for failure to enforce

federal civil rights law.

On the local and state level, constituents can lobby for funds and oversight to protect civil

rights and for funding to enable training of police and other government workers regarding proper

and fair treatment of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, etc.

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 7

A third part of the short-term solution to resolve and prevent civil rights conflicts is for the

so called “fourth branch of government”, or more properly, the media to do a thorough job of

exposing unaddressed civil rights violations.

All the above solutions include different conflict styles, conflict framing issues, different

influences and points of view, and alternative techniques where the psychological, legal, and

management aspects have one goal. This goal is a positive and constructive handling of conflict

with a successful outcome that keeps society healthy and unified.

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 8

Citation sheet

Joseph P. Folger et al.” Working through Conflict: Strategies for Relationships, Groups, and

Organization”, 7th ed., Routledge, 2016, pp. 108–138.

This book talks in large about conflicts. It helps to give a proper definition to conflict and conflict of interest to understand better how the DOJ actions suits the definition (Folger et al. 108-138).

Huseman, Jessica, and Annie Waldman. “Trump Administration Quietly Rolls Back Civil Rights Efforts

Across Federal Government.” ProPublica, ProPublica, 15 June 2017,

www.propublica.org/article/trump-administration-rolls-back-civil-rights-efforts-federal-

government.

I am using this source as an article that successfully presents the ongoing problem related to the civil rights in the country. The article quotes several key people from different departments of the government (Huseman and Waldman 2017)

“THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.” WorldCat.org, [Washington, DC] : [U.S. G.P.O.] : [U.S.

G.P.O.], [2012], www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-112hdoc129/pdf/CDOC-112hdoc129.pdf 11

December 2018.

The declaration of independence is an essential material to understand how the fundamental needs of every human being is presented and seen by United State founding fathers. I used it to show what was the original intent of the government and how it has been changed since.

Our Mission Statement. The United States Department of Justice, n.d., www.justice.gov/about 11

December 2018.

This source is valuable to show hoe the DOJ protect and defend the United States interest and adheres to the law. The department provides leadership and seeks justice and punishment for misbehavior. The DOJ ensures fair treatment to all the Americans. (about)

“Trump Administration Civil and Human Rights Rollbacks.” The Leadership Conference on Civil and

Human Rights, 2017, civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/.

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 9

This source specify by dates the overall the negative effects on the enforcement of civil rights that are the result of changes implemented by the DOJ (LCCH 2017).

Eilperin, Juliet, Emma Brown, and Darryl Fears. "Trump Administration Plans to Minimize Civil Rights

Efforts in Agencies." The Washington Post. WP Company, 29 May 2017. Web. 11 Dec. 2018.

From https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-plans-to-minimize-civil-

rights-efforts-in-agencies/2017/05/29/922fc1b2-39a7-11e7-a058-

ddbb23c75d82_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c5d271e7977e

The article from the Washington post gives another aspect on the research from the environmental angle and how the DOJ can discriminate even from that area against people (Eliperin, Brown and Fears 2017).

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Expresses Concern Regarding Federal Civil Rights Enforcement

Efficacy and Priorities. (2017, June 16). Retrieved April 14, 2018, from

http://www.usccr.gov/press/2017/06-16-Efficacy-of-Federal-Civil-Rights-Enforcement.pdf

“…these proposed cuts that would result in a dangerous reduction of civil rights enforcement across the country, leaving communities of color, LGBT people, older people, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups exposed to greater risk of discrimination.” (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 1). This direct quote is a part of a large article issued by The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights which expresses concern regarding Federal Civil Rights Enforcement Efficacy and Priorities. This is yet, another support to the violation of civil rights.

Davis, Michael, and Andrew Stark. Conflict of Interest in the Professions. Oxford University Press, 2001.

Davis and Stark refer to a conflict of interest as a conflict of interest that occurs when a person or a company are involved in multiple interests and decisions that involves relationship or proper judgment (Davis and Stark 8).

Sessions, J. B., Attorney general. 2017, March 31. MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF DEPARTMENT

COMPONENTS AND UNITED ST ATES ATTORNEYS [PDF]. Washington: Office of Attorney

General. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-

release/file/954916/download

This is memorandum that published by the attorney general. The information presented in it is in contradiction to events that took place while it was published. It is a support to the claim in the research that the DOJ is not holding to what it stands for (session 2017).

The United States Justice Department has greatly reduced enforcement of civil rights 10

Lincoln, Abraham. Gettysburg Address, Infomotions, Inc., 2000. ProQuest eBook Central,

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/stu/detail.action?docID=33146

In his speech “Gettysburg Address”, Lincoln stated “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” (Lincoln 121). What a great definition for democracy. I used this definition to explain what democracy is and how it is important to keep it. A lack of civil rights protection can lead to the opposite of democracy.