With new faces, new types of cases
After the Bush administration changed hiring rules, the Civil Rights Division has been bringing in more conservative lawyers. Here are three recent cases worked on by some of the new hires, along with information about their backgrounds:
Case: United States v. Southern Illinois University
Year: 2006
Issue: The university offered paid fellowships for minorities and women. The Civil Rights Division sued the university for discriminating against white men. To avoid a court battle, the university dropped the program.
Attorney: The case was handled by a graduate of Indiana University Law School who was hired in February 2004. He is a member of the Federalist Society and the Republican National Lawyers Association. Previously, he worked for the Center for Individual Rights, a nonprofit group that has filed many lawsuits opposing affirmative action in higher education.
Case: Georgia photo ID voting law
Year: 2005
Issue: Georgia enacted a law requiring voters to present a photo ID card, charging $20 for voters who didn't already have a driver's license or a passport. Five career Justice Department officials reviewed the law to see whether it discriminated against blacks. According to an internal memo that was later leaked, four of the five recommended objecting to the law because blacks were less likely to own licenses or passports, but the Civil Rights Division cleared it anyway. A judge later blocked the law, comparing it to a Jim Crow-era poll tax.
Attorney: The lone member of the review committee who favored the law was hired in May 2005. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi Law School and a member of both the Federalist Society and the Christian Legal Society.
Case: Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries v. Glover
Year: 2006
Issue: A Christian group sued a public library for preventing religious organizations from using its facilities to hold worship services. The division filed a ``friend-of-the-court" brief saying that the library policy violates the Christian group's civil rights.
Attorney: The brief was written by a Notre Dame University Law School graduate who was hired in November 2004. He is a member of two groups that seek to integrate Catholic faith in law and society. He also clerked for then-appeals court Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., a conservative whom President Bush recently elevated to the Supreme Court.
SOURCE: Justice Department documents
