Month: June 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with Madison County Schools in Kentucky to resolve its investigation into complaints of serious and widespread racial harassment of Black and multi-racial students. The department opened its investigation in October 2021 under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The department’s investigation uncovered numerous incidents of race-based harassment in which Black and multi-racial students were called the N-word, among other racial epithets, and subjected to other derogatory racial comments by their peers. The school district did not consistently or reasonably address the harassment, which included racial taunts and intimidation, and was at times reinforced by use of Confederate flags and imagery. When the district did respond, it often failed to follow its own racial harassment policies and its actions were ineffective in addressing the broader hostile environment. This inaction deprived Black and multi-racial students of equal access to the district’s educational opportunities and led them to conclude that the district either condoned the behavior or would not take any action to help them.

“No student should be subject to racial harassment, including racist taunts with the Confederate flag that are clearly intended to surface some of the harshest and most brutal periods of our country’s history. Racial harassment inflicts grievous harm on young people and violates the Constitution’s most basic promise of equal protection,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement will create the institutional changes needed to keep Black and multi-racial students safe and to provide them with a supportive educational environment. We look forward to Madison County Schools demonstrating to its students and school community that it will no longer tolerate racial discrimination in its schools.”

“The principles underpinning this investigation and settlement are straightforward,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “All young people are entitled to seek their educational opportunities without facing racial harassment and abuse, and schools simply must adequately protect those entrusted to their care and instruction from that offensive, harmful behavior. With this settlement, Madison County Schools are now taking an important step consistent with those basic principles.”

The department’s investigation also raised concerns about racially disproportionate discipline for Black students at some district schools and inadequate systems for recordkeeping and analysis of discipline data. Under the agreement, Madison County Schools will undertake significant institutional reforms, including:

• Retaining a consultant to review and revise anti-discrimination policies and procedures and support the school district in implementing the agreement;
• Creating three new central office positions to oversee effective handling of complaints of race discrimination;
• Updating its racial harassment and discipline policies to more accurately track and consistently respond to complaints of race-based harassment;
• Training staff on how to identify, investigate and respond to complaints of racial harassment and discriminatory discipline practices;
• Informing students and parents of how to report harassment and discrimination;
• Updating its centralized, electronic reporting system to track and manage complaints and the district’s response to complaints;
• Implementing focus groups, surveys, training and educational events on identifying and preventing race discrimination, including discriminatory harassment; and
• Analyzing and reviewing discipline data and amend policies to ensure non-discriminatory enforcement of discipline policies.

Protecting public school students from harassment and other discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. In March 2023, for example, the division secured a settlement to address harassment based on students’ race, sex, sexual orientation and sex stereotypes in the Twin Valley School District in Vermont. In October 2021, the division reached a settlement with the Davis School District in Utah to remedy harassment of Black and Asian American students. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and additional information about the work of the Educational Opportunities Section is available at www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section.

Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

On June 9, vessel Chief Engineer Denys Korotkiy was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, and failure to maintain an accurate oil record book for the vessel Donald in San Diego, California, following a five-day jury trial. Interunity Management (Deutschland) GMBH, a vessel operating company, previously pleaded guilty for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge water.    

The evidence showed that oily bilge water was illegally dumped from the Donald directly into the ocean through the vessel’s sewage tank without being properly processed through required pollution prevention equipment. Oily bilge water typically contains oil contamination from the operation and cleaning of machinery on the vessel. These illegal discharges were not recorded in the vessel’s oil record book as required by law. The evidence also showed that Korotkiy made false and fictitious entries in the oil record book claiming transfers of oily bilge had been made from the vessel’s engine room bilge wells to the vessel’s Bilge Holding Tank when, in fact, those transfers had not been made. Finally, the evidence showed that Korotkiy conspired with others to obstruct the U.S. Coast Guard’s inspection and investigation into the mishandling of oily bilge water onboard the motor vessel Donald.    

At the conclusion of the trial, the court remanded Chief Engineer Korotkiy to custody. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1.

“The illegal discharge of oily bilge water at sea and the falsification and destruction of records in order to obstruct the United States’ ability to investigate those discharges are crimes we take seriously,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure polluters are held fully accountable.”   

“Unlawful oil discharges can cause immeasurable harm to the marine environment,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “We will continue to work closely with our agency partners to safeguard our oceans by vigorous enforcement of environmental laws. This case is a reflection of that commitment.”

“This prosecution highlights the Department of Justice and the U.S. Coast Guard’s dedication in safeguarding our oceans against those that seek to deliberately harm our natural resources,” said Captain James Spitler, Sector Commander, Coast Guard Sector San Diego. “Illegal dumping of oil and falsification of oil record books are egregious violations. This guilty verdict should serve as a reminder that the Coast Guard and our partners at the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to hold accountable those that seek to deliberately discharge oil and falsify records.”

In the same matter, Interunity pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, for failing to accurately maintain the Donald’s oil record book. Under the terms of the plea agreement and subject to court approval, Interunity will pay a total monetary penalty of $1.25 million and serve a four-year term of probation, during which any vessels operated by the company and calling on U.S. ports will be required to implement a robust Environmental Compliance Plan. The monetary penalty includes $312,500 to fund projects, activities, or initiatives intended to benefit marine and coastal natural resources located in or around the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve.

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson for the Southern District of California and Senior Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

On Friday, June 9, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General (PADAG) Marshall Miller led a Sexual Abuse Facility Enhancement and Review (SAFER) team, comprised of representatives of multiple components of the Justice Department, in a visit and review at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Tallahassee. This is the first in a series of SAFER visits to women’s facilities throughout the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

The Deputy Attorney General launched the SAFER team project to visit women’s facilities in each of BOP’s six regions and engage with leadership, staff, and women in custody at those facilities, as part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to root out sexual misconduct within the BOP. The SAFER team that visited FCI Tallahassee included representatives from the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the BOP, the Office on Violence Against Women, and the Office for Access to Justice, and was joined by U.S. Attorney Jason Coody for the Northern District of Florida and representatives from the FBI.

During the visit, the team reviewed the facility’s progress implementing the recommendations of the Department’s Sexual Misconduct Working Group, including its initiatives to promote timely and effective reporting consistent with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The team also reviewed the facility’s conditions, medical and mental health services, reentry programming, and Special Housing Unit, and spoke directly with women in custody. Following the visit, PADAG Miller and several team members visited the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida (the USAO), where they discussed the office’s work to prioritize cases involving misconduct committed by BOP personnel, including the USAO’s recent conviction of a former corrections officer at FCI Tallahassee who sexually abused a woman in his custody. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department announced today that it entered into a settlement agreement with the City of Dayton, Ohio, and the Dayton Police Department (DPD) under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to resolve allegations that DPD discriminated against a driver during a traffic stop.

The ADA requires that cities, law enforcement agencies and other public entities provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in their services, including policing. The ADA also requires a police department or other public entity to reasonably modify its practices when necessary to avoid discrimination.

This agreement resolves a complaint by a driver who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair who was pulled over by DPD officers. The officers ordered him to get out of his car, but he did not have his wheelchair with him. He told the officers that he could not get out safely without his wheelchair. Over his protests, the officers ordered him out, and refused his request that they call a supervisor. The officers also did not call for assistance or equipment to enable the driver to safely exit. Instead, they pulled him out of his car onto the ground, handcuffed him and dragged him to a police car.

“No one should be subjected to discriminatory treatment during police interactions and that includes people with disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Law enforcement agencies and their officers are required to make reasonable modifications to their policies and procedures when interacting with people with disabilities and failure to do so may violate federal civil rights law. The Justice Department will vigorously enforce the ADA to ensure that police officers are not discriminating against people with disabilities.”

“Ensuring that law enforcement officers understand the scope of the ADA will only positively impact their connection with the people in the communities they serve,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio. “There are so many people with different disabilities whom officers may find themselves interacting with on even a daily basis, so having them trained in this area is imperative.”

The two-year agreement requires DPD to modify its policies to be consistent with the ADA, provide training for police about how to better interact with individuals with disabilities, and to report on its progress to the Justice Department.

This matter was handled by the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.  For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit the ADA website at www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at www.ada.gov/complaint/.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

On Thursday, June 8 and Friday, June 9, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta traveled to Chicago. During her visit, she met with community members and local leaders to hear about critical issues in the Chicago area and discuss the department’s efforts to fight gun violence and violent crime through thoughtful work on policing, a focus on building trust between police and the communities they serve, and empowering communities to be co-producers of public safety. She was joined throughout the trip by Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Amy Solomon.

University of Chicago Law School’s Law of Policing Conference

The Associate Attorney General kicked off her trip on Thursday, June 8, by serving as a featured speaker at the University of Chicago Law School’s Law of Policing Conference. During the UChicago event, she participated in a fireside chat with Professor Sharon Fairley to discuss the department’s work, including efforts to build police-community trust, pattern and practice investigations, work with law enforcement agencies seeking assistance through programs like the department’s Collaborative Reform Initiative and fund organizations and programs that center community voices in public safety conversations.

Site Visits with Justice Department-Funded Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Programs and Families of Gun Violence Victims

On Thursday afternoon, the Associate and department officials visited the North Lawndale area for a site visit and community meeting, hosted by UCAN, to speak with representatives from organizations that help fund, provide and study community violence intervention and related services. Participants included: Metropolitan Family Services (MFS), an OJP grantee that received both site-based and capacity-building grants through the department’s Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) in Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22); a sub-grantee that will be receiving funds and other support from MFS through the capacity-building award; researchers from Northwestern University who are studying community violence intervention programs; and others. During the meeting, participants discussed ways to make federal grant funds more effective and accessible, and shared their experiences working with local law enforcement and collaborating with other community-based organizations to reduce violence in Chicago. Later that day, the Associate and other department officials met with mothers who have lost children to gun violence to listen to their concerns and challenges, including with navigating resources and services for victims. The meeting was hosted by New Life Centers of Chicagoland.

Bringing Critical Stakeholders Together: Meetings with U.S. Attorney’s Office, University of Chicago Crime Lab, and Mayor of Chicago

On Friday, June 9, Associate Attorney General Gupta and Assistant Attorney General Solomon met with Acting U.S. Attorney Sonny Pasqual for the Northern District of Illinois and senior staff from his office, followed by a visit to the University of Chicago Crime Lab, which was joined by Senator Dick Durbin, to learn about the Crime Lab’s innovative work, including research on the effectiveness of community violence intervention programs, early warning systems in law enforcement agencies and more. The trip concluded with a meeting with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago’s first-ever Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood.

Through OJP, local organizations can access critical funding that can be used to support community-focused violence intervention and prevention programming. In FY22 alone, the department provided $100 million in funding for CVIPI, aimed at helping scale this type of community-based work and innovation to tackle public safety concerns. In addition, through OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime, the department offers grants, training and technical assistance to support victims and survivors of crime as they navigate difficult journeys of recovery and healing.