A U.S. judge blocked the release of a Justice Department report on law enforcement and policing because it did not include input from a diverse group of contributors.
U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that the Justice Department did not ensure that its Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice included “fairly balanced” viewpoints, as is required by federal law. Bates noted that the commission did not include experts with backgrounds in criminal defense, civil rights, or community organization.
“Especially in 2020, when racial justice and civil rights issues involving law enforcement have erupted across the nation, one may legitimately question whether it is sound policy to have a group with little diversity of experience, examine, behind closed doors, the sensitive issues facing law enforcement and the criminal justice system in America today,” Bates wrote in his opinion.
The case against the Justice Department was made in a lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Legal Defense Fund earlier in 2020. Bates agreed with the NAACP that Attorney General William Barr “only selected from those with law enforcement backgrounds” to participate in the commission. In a statement, NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill praised the ruling.
“Today’s decision establishing that the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice violated multiple provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act constitutes an important step in the right direction,” Ifill said.
“The country has been demanding accountability for police misconduct and violence, and clamoring for a reimagined notion of public safety for many months following the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other black people. Any federal committee designed to make recommendations about law enforcement must include representation from people and communities impacted by police violence, civil rights organizations, the criminal defense bar, and other stakeholders,” she added.
The commission was ordered to form after President Trump signed an executive order in October 2019, vowing to analyze the issue of law enforcement in the United States. The commission was supposed to review “modern” techniques for law enforcement and crime reduction while also analyzing the issues of mental illness, homelessness, and substance abuse in the U.S.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
