Sessions, in Last-Minute Act, Sharply Limits Use of Consent Decrees to Curb Police Abuses

The data support that violent crime went up at the end of the Obama administration. The question is why. Mr. Sessions believes it is because of the aggressive approach toward police misbehavior that the previous administration applied. A different explanation is that rape and homicide, two of the primary drivers of serious crime, are influenced by two more recent trends: 1) #Metoo which has encouraged rape victims to report their rapes. If they weren’t reported before they didn’t register. 2) the recent increase in the rate of mass murders. Because the numbers of murders are small by historical standards, several large mass killings would inflate the rate. There may be other alternatives. What is not discussed is the rate of neighborhood crime like larceny and burglary continued to go down to historic lows. Since those particular crimes are often signs of police presence (or absence) in high crime neighborhoods that would suggest that some of the police reforms are indeed working. I don’t know the answer and Mr. Sessions may be right on some things, but I am disheartened by the idea that holding police accountable when they have a pattern of screwing up is right. Individuals make mistakes, even police (maybe especially so because of the nature of their work), and we should always bear that in mind, but since the vast majority of police are great and a tremendous asset to communities across America, why would we deliberately let incompetence and corruption go unanswered?

Sessions is a realist. Police enforce order, not justice. Constitutional rights aren't. Racism is ubiquitous. And gov't requires only acquiescence from the governed, not their consent. It's just as well we stop the empty gesture of consent decrees and let local police get on with their job.

Sessions’ final memorandum on consent decrees trivializes the significance of our Constitutional rights. The memorandum clearly says that even though a police department violates Constitutional rights, it is not enough to warrant overhaul . Why not? The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the land and its amendments ensure our individual rights. That should be enough.

Per this article, one of the three new restrictions placed on "consent decrees" is the following: "...department lawyers must lay out evidence of additional violations beyond unconstitutional behavior...". Illegal killings? Use of excessive force? It's in the Constitution (8th Amendment against "cruel and unusual punishment"). Illegal search and seizure? It's in the Constitution (4th Amendment against "unreasonable search and seizures"). "Planting evidence" to frame suspects? It's also in the 4th Amendment ("prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence"). False imprisonment? That's covered by the 5th Amendment ("prohibits punishment without due process of law"). Racial profiling and harassment? One could argue that this is covered under the "unenumerated rights" in the 9th Amendment. Or one could simply point to the Declaration of Independence which clearly states that "all men (and women) are created equal" - and leave it at that. But Session's edict insists that rape, murder, beatings, illegal search and seizure, false imprisonment, planting evidence and more are all fail to rise to "meet the bar" to trigger the implementation of a federal "consent decree" - because they're ONLY prohibited by the Constitution - and thus lack any corroborating additional violations of other federal or state laws. Mr. Sessions, what's the point of having a Constitution if we can't use it? I think you just spit on our Constitution. Another small, mean-spirited and vindictive man.

Consent decrees offer a political solution instead of a structural remedy. These are often fraught with the input of political leaders, who have never been involved in law enforcement, and impose window dressing solutions. The Consent Decrees also does not have a sunset clause, thereby causing reformed agencies to continue to be under the heal of the politicians who use it for political advantage. By implementing a sunset clause, this forces the stakeholders, both police and political leaders, to work to find a long term fix.

Can't understand why Trump dumped Sessions. He did his bidding until the bitter end gleefully. Did Jeff think he was going to win points with the big guy or is he just as mean-spirited? This country is getting scarier and scarier with this administration as it now cripples interaction between the federal government's review of the state and local agencies that would prevent police abuses. To think, did Trump even know that this was coming? Or was this something that Session just thought up as a parting gift?

Despite Trump's complaints and belittling tweets, Sessions was blindly doing Trump's bidding to the end. Mr. Sessions made a big mistake here, one that will hobble improvements in policing for a long time to come, as it's clear that Mr. Whitaker and Mr. Trump will not rescind this "guideline." Meanwhile, we also have the issue of an acting Attorney General who has not been vetted by the Senate, however poorly they may do the job right now.

Is this a form of imposing martial law for the increase of unsubstantiated profiling arrests and give heavy fist power to police to fill prisons decreasing the democratic vote in the 2020 election?

The notion that political appointees are better positioned to decide to apply consent decrees it's micro-management run amuck. When police departments develop a culture of implicit bias, which by definition they will not recognize, politics are the worst possible corrective tool to use. Justice Department attorneys prosecuting civil rights violations are the ones with the best understanding, having spend months collecting and analyzing facts on the ground. Floating in a political operator moves us away from a fact-based decision process. Sessions' approach moves us back to a Dread Scott environment where Constitutional rights are only available to those with political clout. That diminishes the Constitution just like the post civil war civil rights cases did. Good riddance to Sessions, but where is the hope to get better in this administration?

"The consent decrees, used heavily by the Obama administration to punish police departments for embarrassing his DOJ by demonstrating that they did not conduct business in a racist or prejudicial manner when investigated..." There, fixed that for you.

The Trump Administration, from the racist President on down, likes police brutality by white officers towards nonwhites. Trump sets the example, from his calls to execute the innocent Central Park Five, to his encouragement to police chiefs to physically abuse prisoners, to his racial abuse of African American journalists.

So now "department lawyers must lay out evidence of additional violations beyond unconstitutional behavior." That's great! now police can violate the constitution with no fear that the federal government will stop them. Way to go, Jeff! Law and order! Well, forget the "law" part, I guess.... This allows random personal searches at the whim of police, which will (totally unintentionally, of course) always focus on people of color. Next stop: "Can I see your papers, please?" Followed by indefinite detention if you happened to leave your birth certificate and passport at home. Is this a great country or what?

Why thank you Beauregard, for your hateful, racist parting gift to the American people, but especially to people who are systematically abused by the police. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions proves once again that he doesn't know a thing about justice.

Some how if Jeff Sessions, in his last act as AG, could have reinstated slavery and declared the Confederate Army the winner in the American Civil war, then he surely would have. Short of that, he endorsed and condoned police brutality as his final act and statement as USAG. He has surely proved himself a racist and hatemonger, just like his ex boss we all thought he was all along.

Sessions must get over losing the Civil War. Meds might help.

Sessions is a throwback to Southern injustice and the lynching of Blacks. He was going to do his best to see that Blacks continue to be murdered just for being Blacks. He is gone now but his disgusting legacy continues!

Former AG holder did everything in his power to handcuff police departments around the country with illegal "findings" of "racial bias". Unproven and unsubstantiated claims were used as a cudgel against police departments in order to comply with the preferential outcomes that Holder wanted. Result? Consent degrees that local jurisdictions were to abide by racial bias findings-mostly illegitimate-to ensure that police couldn't do their jobs properly without a fear of retribution from the Justice Dept and AG. The so-called high profile police killings were mostly a fiction repeated by people who needed any pretense to vilify the police.

As if Sessions's support of the Muslim ban, his approval of separating children from their parents at the border, his racist background as a senator from Alabama were not enough, now his final act as AG to prevent investigation into police abuses and civil rights violations will seal his pathetic legacy. He is no better than Trump and was fired because, for once, he acted on principle by recusing himself from the Mueller investigation. The irony is too great to ignore.

I don't mourn the forced resignation of good ol' southern boy Jeff Sessions, but I fear more the ascension of his immediate successor, Mr. Whitaker, as well as likely permanent successors like the execrable Chris Christie, who would do to the country what he did to New Jersey. Trump's mob of undesirables just keeps getting worse--as if that was possible. (Bad news: it is.)

Throwing a bone to the president and his growing cohort of white nationalists, Mr. Sessions shows himself to be a true Republican in its shameful 21st Century morph. At times it is difficult to parse out the relative contributions of racism, greed and ignorance as motivators of GOP goals and actions. On his own, the current president is simply a large, selfish baby. The entrenched rich, white, male GOP congress, financed by Dark Money, is what has allowed trumpism to putrify into a historic force for harm.

It's as if Sessions didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea about him and what he was about as he left the scene. He just had to pull one last job before he was out. I mean the front page headline could have just as easily read: "Sessions Curtails Just Department's Ability to Pursue Justice." It's akin to when Giuliani was mercifully absent from the Western Hemisphere only for us to learn he was in Romania... FIGHTING AGAINST Romania's anti-corruption efforts. It's like watching a conservative candidate Tyler Tannahill (Kansas) raffling a shiny new AR-15... just days after the Parkland shooting. It's the president continuing to specifically point at law-abiding citizens he does not like and say "you are the enemies of the people"... despite knowing some people take his "enemies" list as a "hit" list. The GOP needs to get on Monster.com or something and adjust its search criteria because when their recruiters are sending them candidates, they're not sending their best: they're thieves, they're con men, they're misogynists... although some, I assume (i.e, in theory), are good people.

Is it surreal that people who have made a fortune by breaking the law are now shaping the laws?

I ALMOST felt sorry for Mr. Session being treated so callously by the man at the top, but no longer. This last act of vindictiveness proves that the humiliation was well deserved.

Now we know. It is the Republicans in the form of Jeff Sessions who "dropped Obama-era investigations into the police in Chicago" as he was "opposed a consent decree between the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois attorney general". In other words they want whatever is happening in Chicago to continue to happen.

Who cares what kind of memorandum Jefferson Beauregard Sessions signed? Local courts and even Federal courts are not subject to decrees from either the A.G. or the POTUS. That is the prerogative of an independent judiciary and an independent state A.G. Don't expect true "justice" to be accomplished under a Trump administration. For Trump, justice is whatever Trump wants it to be. All he needs is the proper lackey to carry out his every whim and not be deterred by judicial philosophy.

What the heck does Vanita Gupta mean by "locally negotiated" towards the end of the article? That is just completely disingenuous. Whomever is negotiating is doing so on behalf of the Federal Government and sent by the Justice Department. In fact stating that a very high bar must be met to enter into consent decrees STRENGTHENS Federalism ... i.e. the Federal government should stay out of State and Local matters in most cases. What kind of mental gymnastics is she doing?

Wednesday I was actually feeling a bit sorry for Sessions. Sure, he came to the job as the first and greatest Trump sycophant, but no one actually deserves to be treated as Trump has treated Sessions, and he took it for the sake of the greater good of DOJ, and of Justice in America. Look how he was cheered as he left the building. And what alternate universe did I wake up in? But..... now we're back to normal universe. Sessions is now, as always, a dedicated bigot and chauvinist. He deserves from us all the sympathy he has shown the poor, the weak, the abused, or the other. None.

Trump and Sessions represent various segments of the dark soul of America. There is a basic authoritarian streak that runs through the American psyche starting with slavery, genocide of native Americans, and the murder of people of color. These ugly blood lines never actually go away but occasionally pop up when given the opportunity. Trumpism brought forth the worse instincts in Americans and he cleverly won the presidency by cultivating all that residual hate. Liberal politicians like FDR and Obama have not brought about a permanent humanitarian change in America!

Why? Why would he want to protect corrupt and dangerous police departments from being fully exposed and prosecuted. This is so misguided.

So the last thing that Session's did was something that Trump wanted all along. Local police departments are not the only ones that need to be watched over, all agencies of law enforcement need to be looked at from time to time. All organizations need to step back and ask themselves, are we doing the right thing. To do otherwise would be to say that they are perfect and there's no such thing. It's to bad that Session's did what he did, it would have been better if he had dropped the hammer on Trump before he got thrown out.

They say "elections have consequences". On the face of it this seems like one of those consequences where Republicans have one view point and Democrats have another. But, as we know, the devil (or rat) is in details. It is clear, as Mr. Smith says, that “This memo will make the Justice Department much less effective in enforcing civil rights laws.” Is that a bug or a feature. Republicans will say it is just a side effect, the Democrats will say it is the purpose of the memo. But lets look at the requirements: 1. Top political appointees must sign off the deals, rather than the career lawyers who have done so in the past; 2. Dpartment lawyers must lay out evidence of additional violations beyond unconstitutional behavior; and 3. The deals must have a sunset date. It is number 2 that gets me. If the Constitution is the foundation for the law why aren't unconstitution violations enough? If violations are enough to impeach the president than violations of the constitition should be enough for a consent decree.

This move is consistent with many of Sessions' actions that, whatever else they do and whatever other motivations they may have had, will favor the illegal and unconstitutional treatment of people of color, especially African Americans. Given Sessions' history (for example, the problems that came up when he was nominated as a judge), there's no reason to think that these results aren't intended.

Again, gamesmanship from Washington. This is: a) something Mr. Sessions could have done a year ago, and b) something his successor would likely want to do as well. However, it is a move that would create push-back and resentment (which is why it wasn't done a year ago), so by doing it as he is leaving Mr. Sessions takes most of the criticism for the memo while setting his successor in a position they would like to be in anyway. The successor now simply has to say "we are reviewing all policies and will report to you later," nullifying any widespread criticism, all while enacting said policies. It's an obvious play by Mr. Sessions to ensure conservative policies are in place with minimal resistance or oversight. As I said, gamesmanship. I thought Mr. Trump pledged to drain the swamp?

I do not understand why this makes America better than it was before Sessions held office. What are the priorities of these Trump appointees? Who are they trying to help?

‘Cop’ is short for “constabulary on patrol.” I get that Jefferson Thumbelina Sessions probably has no idea what such a role would entail, but there’s no excuse for law enforcement officers not to know what their actual obligations are.

Jeff Beauregard Sessions represented the KKK wing of the coalition that elected Donald Trump. This last act of his is in support of the entrenchment of white supremacy in law enforcement. There is no other way to interpret the actions Sessions took as Attorney General throughout his tenure. The other subject we should be discussing is the infiltration of white supremacist groups of law enforcement and the military. It is my hope that House committees will compel Sessions and others to testify about their actions and their lifetime affiliations in public testimony. We almost never have public discussions about this aspect of American political life. We must. It is inexorably tied to police brutality and hundreds of cases of police shootings each year. This article makes statements such as "The document reflected Mr. Sessions’s staunch support for law enforcement and his belief that overzealous civil rights lawyers under the Obama administration vilified the local police." This is opinion. The fact is that Sessions came in with an agenda to match his own racist belief. During his confirmation hearing, no one asked him "are you now or have you ever been a member of the Ku Klux Klan?" They should have. -- ‘Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking’ https://www.rimaregas.com/2018/08/07/greed-malfeasance-never-sleep-blog42s-things-trump-did-while-you-werent-looking-august-december-2018/

The lawyers must lay out evidence of additional violations beyond JUST unconstitutional behavior. Apparently, to Sessions and Trump, unconstitutional behavior isn't enough to go after law enforcement. But here's the thing. Officers take a pledge to protect and defend the Constitution. Why is it now, with Sessions' decree, that violations of the Constitution are not enough, that they must go BEYOND violations of the Constitution? What exactly is additional violations since the Constitution covers a lot of behavior?

Trump loved everything about Sessions, but the one ethical act he did was too many for his boss. Are we great again yet?

Sessions is thinking about pubic office, and he's playing to the police chiefs and sheriffs.

It would have been more efficient for Sessions to just go out and shoot some people of color himself. Presumably it would have cost him little, as his previous and criminal lying to Congress cost him nothing at all.

lest anyone feel pity for the self, this is a reminder that he is a terrible person. Recusing himself doesn't compensate for his many heinous actions.

It's as though Sessions needed to demonstrate the irony of Democrats rushing to defend him.

Tho not much notice will be given to this by the public, isn’t it another link in the chain of the administration’s lock on America’s “ liberty and justice for all?”

Jeff Sessions. A weasel until the very end.

What else can you say but that his final act was to endorse and encourage police brutality in these United States. It is one final stain on the soul of America that Jeff Sessions leaves as he exits. Let that be your final epithet for the 2 years of disservice you have inflicted as AG on the United States America. Good Riddance!

Why am I not surprised? I'm disgusted, but not surprised. We have to start acting, legislating, and voting like states have power! We do have power and we can make the change on the city, county, state level. I'm so very proud of my community and everyone in Washington State which passed I-940: https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Initiative_940,_Police_Training_and_Criminal_Liability_in_Cases_of_Deadly_Force_Measure_(2018) I do believe there is much we can do on local levels that counters the mess of on the federal level.

President Obama, along with almost all Democrats and liberals and independents and even a lot of conservatives, agreed that the vast majority of police departments and officers were honest and dedicated. But it is only in the past decade or so that we have documented reports about how some have very specific problems that need attention. To both protect the civilians and rebuild trust in the police, locally and in general. But now .... yet another Trump administration macho approach.

What a shock! How incredibly fitting that Jeff Sessions finally knows what it is like to be disenfranchised. Not that we really expect him to learn anything from it. After all, men like Sessions and his former boss have built careers from Making America Hate Again regardless of how they've tried to sell it. Without much effort you can make the case that Sessions recused himself to protect Sessions in the long term rather than his MAHA mate in the short term. What goes around...

So called party of small government; yeah right, only when it works for them. This is wrong on so many levels.

My only regret is that Trump didn't fire him sooner. As the nation watched videos of unarmed black men being gunned down by police, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions only concern was the "sovereignty " of the police departments.

"[Consent decress] became even more prominent after the killings of black men at the hands of the police captured headlines and set off the Black Lives Matter movement." This was further politicization of the justice department. In Ferguson, when all the shouting was done, we learned that the claims of "hands up don't shoot" were a fraud. Instead, Michael Brown, unbeknownst to the officer on patrol, had just done a strong arm robbery of a cigar store. When the officer confronted Brown for walking in the middle of traffic there was a disconnect. Brown had just committed a felony and the officer thought he was dealing with simple jaywalking. Brown attacked the officer, not the other way around. Nonetheless, the DOJ led by Holder charged in. To the DOJ's credit they did not find systemic racism. Rather, they found local government abused all its residents, regardless of race, in its hunt for revenue in a poor community where people (white and black) were jailed for unpaid parking tickets. Racism is a problem, but it is not always the problem. See also Trayvon Martin - Holder DOJ intercession and acquittal of Zimmerman.

People are decrying the fact that Sessions quit or more correctky was fired. This sentiment makes little sense except in terms of the Mueller investigation. A review of Sessions' long term record prior to becoming Attorney General demonstrates that he was a racist and did not support civil rights and his last act should not come as a surprise, The only thing Sessions did right was his recusal from the Mueller investigation He has upended many of the progressive reforms made by President Obama's administration and is no friend of those who have suffered from law enforcement abuses Anyone who Trump appoints for the Attorney General position is going to be conservative and not for protecting civil liberties. Hopefully, he or she will only be there for two years However, there are many more important issues related to Trump that we should be concerning ourselves with - including his disregard for our Constitution

Regarded metaphorically, Sessions' final actions prove (yet again) that racism truly is an ineradicable stain on the American psyche. We can institute laws and (try to) advance social & cultural consciousness. All look good on paper, but cannot hope to prevail completely over the willful, powerful hatreds of the Sessions and the Whitakers, the Cruzs and the Alitos of the country. Thus we must continue to be vigilant, and undeterred in our fight to keep America just and compassionate.

The real issue with the growing dependance on Executive Decrees from our President or our AG, is they create legal ping pong with policy. The next Democrat elected to the White House and the next AG he or she appoints, will cancel Trump's and Session's decrees across the board. Then the agencies tasked with enforcement from Homeland Security to the Justice Department, from the NIH to the Veterans Administration and many more, will all have to reverse course, re-train people, reprint and distribute documentation, and instill a new culture in their organizations, at least until a Republican administration takes over and reverses the Democrat's reverse. Our founders envisioned a system with a certain level of built in viscosity - example: 6 year Senators and 2 year Representatives - to keep our ideologues from overrunning the rule of law. Those goals are being eradicated.

What a piece of work is Jeff Sessions. He lied in his confirmation hearings, and enacted racist policies on his way out. What's that story Trump likes to tell about the snake?

Consent degrees are useful and needed in certain circumstances. But, they need to be signed off by a politician or someone with "skin in the game" rather than an anonymous faceless burocrat.

Guess this makes sense for Sessions. Sessions is from Alabama. It has one of the highest number of cases of excessive force in the country. It arrests more minorities than whites. Bye bye Sessions.

Thanks, Jeffrey. You earned your keep and I'm sure the Robber Barons will take good care of you. Traitor.

I wish I was in the land of cotton, Old times there are not forgotten; Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! In Dixie's Land where I was born in, Early on one frosty morning, Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! (Chorus) Then I wish I was in Dixie! Hooray! Hooray! In Dixie's Land I'll take my stand, to live and die in Dixie! Away! Away! Away down South in Dixie! Away! Away! Away down South in Dixie! Old Missus married "Will the Weaver"; William was a gay deceiver! Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! But when he put his arm around her, Smiled as fierce as a forty-pounder! Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! (Chorus) His face was sharp as a butcher's cleaver; But that did not seem to grieve her! Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! Old Missus acted the foolish part And died for a man that broke her heart! Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! (Chorus) Now here's a health to the next old missus And all the gals that want to kiss us! Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! But if you want to drive away sorrow, Come and hear this song tomorrow! Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! (Chorus) There's buckwheat cakes and Injin batter, Makes you fat or a little fatter! Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! Then hoe it down and scratch your gravel, To Dixie's Land I'm bound to travel! Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie's Land! (Chorus) Jeff Sessions

Nothing new from the Confederacy. Racist fiends like Beauragard Sessions should be removed from office at every turn. Luckily this attempt at creating a petty Trump legacy can be undone by a pen stroke by an AG who actually believes in justice. Bring on 2020!

Make Police Brutality Great Again Make Jim Crow Great Again Make Angry White Guys Great Again Nobody sinks to the racist, authoritarian occasion like the Trump Administration and its rainbow of racist appointees. Flush the Confederate Toilet in 2020.