|
Lawyers'
Committee for Civil
Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005
For
Immediate Release
Contacts:
Phil West
Luminaria Media & Public Relations
philwest@gmail.com
phone: 512.945.7493
David
Vance
Campaign Legal Center
dvance@campaignlegalcenter.org
phone: 240.605.8600 (cell phone, on-site day of event)
March
28,
2007
Two
Former Department of Justice Officials Join University
of Texas Law Professor To Discuss Politicization of
The Department of Justice, March 30, At National Press
Club
WHAT:
Two former Department of Justice officials will join
a University of Texas law professor and election law
expert to discuss politicization of the United States
Department of Justice at an informal press event at
the National Press Club on Friday.
The discussion will cover recent episodes of Department
of Justice decision-making, including the dismissal
of the eight U.S. attorneys, recent voter fraud cases,
partisan enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, hiring
of attorneys in the Department and approval of the
2003 congressional redistricting in Texas masterminded
by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
The panel of three attorneys will discuss DOJ politicization
under the present Administration. The panel includes
two attorneys formerly with the Department of Justice
-- J. Gerald Hebert, now Executive Director of the
Campaign Legal Center and the lead attorney for the
Congressional Democrats in the Texas Congressional
redistricting suit, and Joseph Rich, who was Chief
of the Division’s Voting Section from 1999 until
2005 and is now Director of the Fair Housing Project
at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under
Law. Both Hebert and Rich served for decades in the
Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division,
spanning many Administrations.
University of Texas adjunct law professor and election
law expert Steve Bickerstaff, joining Hebert and Rich
on the panel, recently authored a book (Lines in the
Sand) on the 2003 Congressional redistricting episode
in Texas, the politicization of the DOJ and the downfall
of Tom DeLay. He also was among the persons who wrote
a recommendation letter calling for the confirmation
of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General in 2005, but
has recently called for his resignation. Like Hebert
and Rich, he has lengthy personal experience with
the Department of Justice.
WHEN:
Friday, March 30, 9:30-11 a.m.
WHERE:
Zenger Room, National Press Club
529 14th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.
back to Press Releases
|
