ATLANTA — Local civil rights activists and attorneys are reacting to President Donald Trump’s new Department of Justice freeze on civil rights cases litigation.
According to a memo, DOJ attorneys cannot file new complaints, briefs or certain court papers “until further notice.”
“It is alarming,” said James Woodall, former Public Policy Associate at the Southern Center for Human Rights.
Woodall told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington that he was not surprised by the halt, as did Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs.
“It means that we can no longer depend on the justice department to protect civil rights,” Griggs said.
The memo said the move was to ensure the government spoke with one voice in its view of the law.
Right now, there is a civil rights investigation into Fulton County’s jail. That investigation is now in jeopardy, along with other cases in Louisville and Minneapolis.
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The president of the Georgia Alliance of African American Attorneys, Daniel Brown, agreed with other activists who said the decision was a slap in the face to civil rights activists, especially to those in Atlanta, the birthplace of the civil rights movement.
“[They] Fought for justice to advance us forward, now we’re taking several steps back,” Brown said.
“It really feels like a loss and as if people will need to rally and protest and make efforts in order to maintain the constitution,” Morehouse College political science professor Adrienne Jones said.
Attorneys who Washington spoke with did say that there was a way to still get civil rights cases heard.
“It’ll be up to the judge to decide if the case will go forward. They have the authority and the jurisdiction to make that decision,” Brown said.
“Civil rights attorneys and civil rights organizations are going to have to step up and carry the weight that the justice department used to,” Griggs said.
“Protect each other and make sure we are supportive of each other,” Woodall said.
It is unclear how long the litigation freeze will last.
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