Category Archives: Department of Justice
DOJ Shifts Voting Section Priorities after Shelby County Guts Section 5
From DOJ’s budget submission to Congress (p. 44):
Because of the Shelby County case, the Voting Section’s work will necessarily shift to greater affirmative efforts to detect and investigate voting practices that violate federal law, to more affirmative litigation to… Continue reading
Philly Inquirer Goes Deep into Senate Opposition Fight Against Debo Adegbile
“Obama Civil Rights Nominee Knew He Was Doomed But Wanted Debate, Harry Reid Says”
HuffPo:
During a Thursday sitdown with reporters, Reid said that Adegbile, a respected civil rights lawyer who previously led the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, met privately with Reid and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) for… Continue reading
Why Did Democrats Bring Up Adegbile for Vote without Accurate Whip Count?
Updated NYT account:
But it was the votes of seven Democratic senators to reject Mr. Adegbile that doomed the nomination despite what White House officials described as a sustained closed-door effort by Mr. Obama and his top aides to… Continue reading
“Harkin: DOJ Civil Rights Nominee Would Have Been Confirmed If He Was White”
HuffPo reports. I have no doubt about that.
Andrew Cohen Ably Makes the Race Case in the Adegbile Debacle
Here.
“One Hour After Opposing Top Voting Rights Lawyer, Senator Fundraises Off Voting Rights”
Lithwick on Adegbile
Must-read.
The only thing I think missing from this is the relevance of Mr. Adegbile’s race in all of this—that may be just as significant as the “cop-killing” meme.
ANOTHER GREAT READ from Jesse Wegman.
NYT on the Adegbile Vote
Breaking: Debo Adegbile Nomination Fails in the Senate
The Adegbile defeat to be DOJ civil rights head shows you how scared Ds are of losing the Senate. And how powerful the Abu-Jamal cop-killer narrative might be against them.
Debo Adegbile Nomination to DOJ Civil Rights Post May Be in Trouble
WaPo:
Once considered the world’s best-known death row inmate, Abu-Jamal has written books from his prison cell, had his cause championed by prominent civil rights advocates including Cornel West and Desmond Tutu, and had a street in Paris named… Continue reading
DOJ Changes Its Page Describing Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
On February 17 I noted that the DOJ page on Section 5 gave no indication that Shelby County had been decided and that section 5 was no longer being enforced against previously covered jurisdictions.
The page has now been updated,… Continue reading
“Prominent Defenders for Nominee to Head Civil Right Division”
NLJ on Debo Adegbile.