HISTORY
One of the oldest of the Civil Rights Division's units, the Criminal Section enforces laws
that date to the post Civil War Reconstruction Era. Originally a part of the Criminal Division, the
Criminal Section and its enforcement authority was moved to the Civil Rights Division when the
CRD was created in 1957. In the early years, the Division was organized geographically.
Eventually, as more civil rights laws were passed, the Division reorganized into functional subject
areas. The Criminal Section is unique within the Division, prosecuting criminal cases while the
remainder of the Division handles civil matters.
Some of the Criminal Section's earliest prosecutions involved the murder of minorities and civil rights workers in the South during the 1960's prior to desegregation. In 1968 Congress
broadened the scope of protection afforded by civil rights statutes by passing a law that made it a
crime to interfere by force or threat of force with certain rights (such as employment, housing, use
of public facilities, etc.) because of someone's race, religion, color or national origin. Those
protections were increased even further twenty years later when Congress enacted a law
(amended in 1996) making violent conduct against religious property and those exercising their
religious beliefs a federal crime. Congress also made it a federal crime in 1994 to use violence to
interfere with providers of reproductive health care. The cases handled by the Section have
always been of great interest to the public and have sometimes become the subject of films,
documentaries, books, and television programs.
Some of the historically significant events in which the Criminal Section has been directly involved include investigations of the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Medgar Evers,
the fatal shootings by the National Guard at Kent State University, the deaths of three civil rights
workers (Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner) in Mississippi, and the police beating of Rodney
King in Los Angeles.
MISSION
The Criminal Section prosecutes cases involving the violent interference with liberties and
rights defined in the Constitution or federal law. The rights of both citizens and non-citizens are
protected. In general, it is the use of force, threats, or intimidation that characterize a federal
criminal violation of an individual's civil rights. Our cases often involve incidents that are
invariably of intense public interest. While some violations may most appropriately be pursued by
the federal Government, others can be addressed by either the federal Government or by state or
local prosecutors. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that acts constituting federal criminal civil rights
violations are sufficiently remedied, whether prosecuted federally or by local authorities.
The types of acts that may involve violations of federal criminal civil rights laws are:
HATE CRIMES (18 U.S.C. § 241, 18 U.S.C. § 245 and 42 U.S.C. § 3631) -- Violent and intimidating acts of racial, ethnic and religious hatred that interfere with federally protected rights, such as housing, employment, voting, and public services.
OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT (18 U.S.C. § 241, 18 U.S.C. § 242) -- Intentional acts by law enforcement officials who misuse their positions to unlawfully deprive individuals of constitutional rights, such as the right to be free from unwarranted assaults, illegal arrests and searches, and theft of property.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING (18 U.S.C. §§ 1581-1594) – Use of force or threats of force or other forms of coercion to compel labor or services, including commercial sex acts, from victims. Modern day slavery can involve migrant farm laborers, sweat shop workers, domestic servants, and brothel workers. Victims may be U.S. citizens or aliens, or adults or children.
INTERFERENCE WITH ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE (18 U.S.C. § 248) -- Violence directed at abortion clinics or health care providers, such as doctors or nurses.
INTERFERENCE WITH THE EXERCISE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS and DESTRUCTION OF RELIGIOUS PROPERTY (18 U.S.C. § 247) -- Violent conduct targeting religious houses of worship, usually involving the arson of churches or synagogues.
INTERFERENCE WITH THE RIGHT TO VOTE (18 U.S.C. § 241, 18 U.S.C. § 242, 18 U.S.C. § 245, 18 U.S.C. § 594 and 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-10(1)) -- Voter intimidation or voter suppression schemes that target victims on the basis of race, color, national origin, or religion.
The punishment imposed by these statutes generally depends upon the injury suffered by the victim. The more serious the injury, the more severe the penalty. In some cases, where the victim had died as a result of the defendant's conduct, the death penalty applies.
WHAT WE DO
Every year the Criminal Section receives and reviews several thousand complaints from
citizens, law enforcement agencies, and organizations describing possible violations of the federal
criminal civil rights statutes. These complaints may be received directly by the Criminal Section in
the form of letters and phone calls or by referral from federal investigative agencies, such as FBI,
OIG, BOP, and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. The majority of complaints allege misconduct by
law enforcement officers such as state or local police officers, federal law enforcement officers,
prison superintendents, correctional officers, state and county judges, or other public officials.
There are five general stages in bringing potential criminal civil rights violations to
prosecution. In sequence, they are:
- receipt of complaint
- investigation
- grand jury
- indictment
- trial
Each complaint received is analyzed to decide whether an investigation is appropriate.
If an investigation is recommended, the FBI (the primary investigative agency) conducts the
investigation by interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence and sends its report both to the
responsible attorney within the Section, as well as to the U.S. Attorney's office with responsibility
for federal prosecutions within the geographic area where the incident occurred. When the
investigation is completed, the prosecutors must then decide whether there is sufficient evidence
to prove a federal violation and legal authority to pursue the case in federal court. Evidence
considered may include statements from witnesses and victims, medical records, physical
evidence, and official records documenting the incident. [Note: the federal criminal civil rights
laws have a five year statute of limitations from the date of the incident, except in cases involving
an intentional killing (generally not bound by the statute of limitations) and religious
interference incidents (seven year statute of limitations)].
In order to prosecute a felony case where the defendant could face imprisonment of more
than a year, evidence must first be presented to a grand jury, which then votes on whether an
indictment should be returned. If an indictment is returned, the Criminal Section often prosecutes
the case jointly with the local U.S. Attorney in the federal District where the incident occurred.
There are times when the Section or the U.S. Attorney may decide to prosecute the case without
direct involvement by the other office. The Criminal Section also prosecutes juvenile offenders,
who may be involved in hate crimes such as cross burnings and vandalism of homes or churches.
In the areas of police misconduct, housing rights, and access to health care, the Criminal
Section may refer complaints that do not present a criminal violation to other Sections within the
Civil Rights Division that have authority under separate civil statutes to file suit when a pattern of
abuse is discovered.
While not all complaints received result in investigation, nor all investigations lead to a
grand jury or eventual prosecution, the Criminal Section seeks to review all possible violations to
ensure that individual liberties are protected. Often, local authorities will take the lead in
prosecuting violent conduct under state statutes even though such conduct also constitutes a
violation of federal criminal civil rights laws. In such cases, the local prosecutive effort is
presumed to vindicate federal interests.
Infrequently, however, even if there has been a local prosecution, it may be determined
(often with the support of the local authorities) that a subsequent federal prosecution is necessary
to remedy the criminal wrongdoing. The Supreme Court has upheld this "dual prosecution"
policy as not violating the Constitution's double jeopardy clause, since the federal Government is
a separate sovereign from the state, charging a crime under its unique authority, even though the
case may be based on the same incident.
In addition to prosecuting cases, the Criminal Section actively participates in providing
technical assistance and information to the public, law enforcement and other Government
agencies regarding the federal criminal civil rights laws by attending conferences, providing
training, and making recommendations for legislation to further the protection of individual rights
and liberties.
WHO WE ARE
Prosecutors, paralegals, and other support staff work together in reviewing complaints and bringing investigations to prosecution. Our attorneys come from diverse backgrounds, and
many have prior experience as litigators -- either as prosecutors or as public defenders -- at the
federal, state, or local level.
In addition, the Criminal Section works with numerous organizations, both within and
outside the Department of Justice, which provide additional investigative resources
and substantive expertise related to federal criminal civil rights violations and other related,
potential federal crimes or civil violations.
