Every time a new President is elected, the Department of Justice reviews its civil rights lawsuits one at a time, to see which cases it will continue with. This process has always been performed on a case-by-case basis. Until now. The new Trump administration has frozen *all” current or pending new cases. The Memo issued by Chad Mizelle, the new DOJ Chief of Staff, halts all ongoing litigation, including any settlements. The measure suggests the recent consent decrees entered into by DOJ regarding the Louisville, Minneapolis and Memphis police departments could be rescinded.

This is an unprecedented move, says Darwin Hewitt, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. This freeze represents more than just a change in philosophy and emphasis. This move suggests the Civil Rights office of DOJ will simply abdicate its responsibility to protect civl rights, added Mr. Hewitt. On the campaign trial, Mr. Trump indicated his support for police officers who sometimes must be “extraordinarily rough” to stop crime.This appears to be part of Trump’s desire to protexct plicemen. But, of course, who protects the public from abusive police officers, if not DOJ? See ABA Bar Journal for more information here.