DOJ eases consent decree use
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday rescinded a Trump-era memo that curtailed the use of consent decrees that federal prosecutors have used in sweeping investigations of police departments.
Garland issued a new memorandum to all U.S. attorneys and other Justice Department leaders spelling out the new policies on civil agreements and consent decrees with state and local governments.
The memo came as the Justice Department shifts its priorities to focus more on civil rights issues, criminal justice overhauls and policing policies after nationwide protests over the death of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.
In easing restrictions placed on the use of consent decrees, the Justice Department is making it easier for its prosecutors to use the tool to force changes at police departments and other government agencies with widespread abuse and misconduct.
The memo in particular rescinds a previous memo issued by Attorney General Jeff Sessions shortly before he resigned in November 2018.
Democrats say the ability of the Justice Department’s civil rights division to investigate police departments was curtailed under President Donald Trump. The so-called pattern or practice investigations examine whether systemic deficiencies contribute to misconduct or enable it to persist.
The Trump Justice Department didn’t totally ban pattern or practice investigations, but former Attorney General William Barr suggested they might have been previously overused.