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Attorneys in the department's Civil Rights Division were ordered
not to file any new complaints, amicus briefs or other certain
court papers “until further notice," one of the memos said.
Another memo directed attorneys to notify leadership of any
settlements or consent decrees — court-enforceable agreements to
reform police agencies — that were finalized by the Biden
administration within the last 90 days.
It said the new administration “may wish to reconsider” such
agreements, raising the prospect that it may abandon two consent
decrees finalized in the final weeks of the Biden administration
in Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Those agreements, reached after investigations found police
engaged in civil rights violations, still need to be approved by
a judge. They were among 12 investigations into law enforcement
agencies launched by the Civil Rights Division under Attorney
General Merrick Garland.
The Minneapolis City Council earlier this month approved the
agreement to overhaul the city’s police training and
use-of-force policies in the wake of the 2020 murder of George
Floyd.
The Justice Department announced last month it had reached the
agreement with Louisville to reform the city’s police force
after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of
Breonna Taylor in 2020 and police treatment of protesters.
The memos, sent by new chief of staff Chad Mizelle, is a sign of
major changes expected in the Civil Rights Division under Trump.
His pick to lead the division is Harmeet Dhillon, a well-known
conservative attorney who last year made an unsuccessful bid for
Republican National Committee chair.
The Justice Department under the first Trump administration
curtailed the use of consent decrees, and the Republican was
expected to again radically reshape the department’s priorities
around civil rights.
It's unclear how long the “litigation freeze” may last. The memo
said the move was necessary to ensure “that the federal
government speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to
ensure that the President’s appointees or designees have the
opportunity to decide whether to initiate new cases.”
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