Constitutional Law

Obama Transition Team Looking To Reform Hobbled Justice Dept.

President-elect Barack Obama’s Justice Department transition team has plenty of challenges to confront in a relatively short period of time. Likely near the top of the team’s list is getting a handle on the politicization of much the Department’s work. The Washington Post reports that, “Political consideration affected every crevice of the department during the Bush years,” citing extensive reports by the Department’s Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility. The first of the reports, issued in June, concluded that candidates for nonpolitical jobs and internships in the Justice Department were rejected because of their affiliations with progressive organizations, including the American Constitution Society. A report by the offices in July named Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson, top aides in the Justice Department, for employing political criteria to fill nonpolitical jobs within the Department. In the fall the offices issued a third report that detailed the political motivations behind the firings of six U.S. Attorneys in 2006.

Recently ACS issued a package of proposals for the coming administration, including ones dealing with how to reform the Justice Department. The ACS papers, “A Fresh Start for a New Administration: Reforming Law and Justice Policies,” is available here. ACS also hosted a panel featuring authors of some of the proposals, including William Yeomans, chief counsel to Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Deborah Pearlsetin, visiting scholar at Princeton University, Sally Katzen, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton administration, and Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, law professor at Stanford. The panel was moderated by Ron Klain, who served as chief of staff to former Vice President Al Gore. Video of the panel discussion is available here.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).