Attorney General Eric Holder is set to push for a lower bar in federal civil rights cases before he leaves his post.
Specifically, Holder plans to call on Congress to lower the standard of proof in civil rights cases — which will in turn open the door for federal prosectors to succeed in getting a conviction in situations where local authorities are unable or unwilling to get one.
“There is a better way in which we could have federal involvement in these kinds of matters to allow the federal government to be a better backstop in examining these cases,” Holder said in an NBC News interview Thursday.
The news comes on the heels of the Justice Department’s Tuesday announcement that it would not be pursuing federal criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman in the 2012 shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin.
The Justice Department’s investigation into the shooting death of Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson in August is still ongoing and expected to conclude within the coming weeks; officials familiar with the case expect no federal charges will be filed.
“We do need to change the law. I do think the standard is too high,” Holder said in the interview. “There needs to be a change with regard to the standard of proof.”
To bring federal criminal charges, federal prosecutors must prove that a person used excessive force on purpose knowing it was wrong to do so — often the biggest barrier to bringing the charges to fruition.
“I’m going to have some specific proposals that we will share with the American people and with Congress,” Holder said Thursday.
