On March 9, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for the nomination of Vanita Gupta for Associate Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Vera Institute of Justice President Nicholas Turner issued the following statement in support of her nomination:

"We urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Vanita Gupta as Associate Attorney General. I have known Ms. Gupta since 1999, and I believe she is uniquely well-suited to serve at the highest echelons of the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Gupta has integrity, commitment to the rule of law, and experience working with those most impacted by the justice system, making her an ideal nominee.

Ms. Gupta’s leadership is especially critical at a time when people across the country have made clear that racial equity and a fair criminal justice system cannot wait any longer. Since her work on the Tulia case in 2003, Ms. Gupta has carried a special understanding of how the American justice system can negatively impact entire communities and therefore requires rigorous standards and transparency at every level. Through her leadership and civil rights advocacy at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Ms. Gupta demonstrated a profound commitment to seeking justice for historically marginalized groups most in need of equal protection and treatment under the law. And, as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights during the Obama Administration, she made the protection of these communities her office’s highest priority, and she will ensure they remain a top priority under the current administration.

We look forward to seeing a swift Senate confirmation."

About the Vera Institute of Justice:

The Vera Institute of Justice is a justice reform change agent. Vera produces ideas, analysis, and research that inspire change in the systems people rely upon for safety and justice. Vera collaborates with the communities most impacted by these systems and works in close partnership with government and civic leaders to implement change. Across projects, Vera is committed to explicitly and effectively reducing the burdens of the justice system on people of color and frames all work with an understanding of our country’s history of racial oppression. Vera is currently pursuing core priorities of ending the misuse of jails, transforming conditions of confinement, providing legal services for immigrants, and ensuring that justice systems more effectively serve America’s increasingly diverse communities. Vera has offices in Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC; New Orleans, and Los Angeles.