Press Call Briefing: Ahead of Budget Hearings, National Civil Rights Groups Call for Justice Department to Prioritize Civil Rights Enforcement, Not Incarceration

Media 06.12,17

WASHINGTON – Today, Monday, June 12 at 1:00 p.m. EDT, ahead of Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein’s testimony before two separate congressional panels Tuesday, civil rights groups will host a telephone press briefing to discuss the implications of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice budget, which reflects a shift in priorities from civil rights enforcement toward a renewed War on Drugs and incarceration.

The Attorney General and the Department of Justice are responsible for upholding the law and administering justice. At a time when our criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform and civil rights are under attack, the nation deserves an attorney general who is committed to ensuring equal justice under the law for all people in the United States.

National civil rights groups will call on members of Congress to push Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein to explain how Trump’s budget priorities impact everyone, and specifically people of color and low-income communities. Rosenstein is scheduled to appear before the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations subcommittees in both the House and Senate.

Please RSVP to Alicia Smith at [email protected].  

WHAT: Press Call Briefing Ahead of Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein’s Testimony before Congressional Appropriations Subcommittees

WHEN: Monday, June 12 at 1:00 p.m. EDT

WHO:
Vanita Gupta, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Jesselyn McCurdy, Deputy Director, ACLU Legislative Office
Michael Collins, Deputy Director, Drug Policy Alliance
Kamal Essaheb, Director of Policy & Advocacy, National Immigration Law Center

DIAL-IN INFORMATION:

Number: 877.876.9174
Conference ID: SESSIONS