Prosecuting Police Misconduct Reflections on the Role of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement
Overview
In June 1998, five former Assistant Attorneys General for Civil Rights, two veteran Civil Rights Division attorneys, and Division Chief Bill Lann Lee gathered at the Vera Institute of Justice to discuss the federal government's efforts to prosecute police misconduct over the past four decades. Prosecuting Police Misconduct: Reflections on the Role of the U.S. Civil Rights Division draws principally on that meeting. By referring to specific cases, the report traces the Civil Rights Division's evolving approach and pinpoints advantages as well as limitations associated with federal prosecution.