The United States Department of Justice (DOJ),also known as the Justice Department,is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States. It is equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries. The department is headed by the U.S. attorney general,who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current attorney general is Merrick Garland,who has served since March 2021.
Merrick Brian Garland is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021. In 2016,President Barack Obama nominated Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court,but the Republican-led U.S. Senate effectively blocked Garland's appointment.
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general.
Anne Melissa Milgram is an American attorney and academic who currently serves as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) since 2021. She previously served as the 57th Attorney General of New Jersey from 2007 to 2010.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is an American coalition of more than 240 national civil and human rights organizations and acts as an umbrella group for American civil and human rights. Founded as the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) in 1950 by civil rights activists Arnold Aronson,A. Philip Randolph,and Roy Wilkins,the coalition has focused on issues ranging from educational equity to justice reform to voting rights.
William Pelham Barr is an American attorney who served as the United States attorney general in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and again in the administration of President Donald Trump from 2019 to 2020.
The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race,sex,disability,religion,and national origin.
Thomas Edward Perez is an American politician and attorney currently serving as senior advisor to the president of the United States and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs,holding both positions since June 2023. Perez previously served as the United States Secretary of Labor (2013–2017),the chair of the Democratic National Committee (2017–2021),and United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights (2009–2013).
Pamela Susan Karlan is an American legal scholar who was the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice from February 8,2021 until July 1,2022. She is a professor at Stanford Law School. A leading legal scholar on voting rights and constitutional law,she previously served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Voting Rights in the DOJ's Civil Rights Division from 2014 to 2015.
Lisa Oudens Monaco is an American attorney,former federal prosecutor and national security official who has served as the 39th and current United States Deputy Attorney General since April 21,2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Joyce Alene White Vance is an American lawyer who served as the United States attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017. She was one of the first five U.S. attorneys,and the first female U.S. attorney,nominated by President Barack Obama.
Sharon McGowan is an American lawyer and a partner at Katz Banks Kumin LLP,an employment and whistleblower firm based in Washington,D.C. Prior to joining KBK,she was the legal director and chief strategy officer for Lambda Legal. McGowan was an Obama administration appointee in the role of Acting General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel for Policy at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. She also served as Principal Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice. In 2019,she was honored with the Stonewall Award,bestowed by the American Bar Association's Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 was a policing reform bill drafted by Democrats in the United States Congress. The legislation was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on February 24,2021. The legislation aims to combat police misconduct,excessive force,and racial bias in policing.
Kristen M. Clarke is an American attorney who has served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the United States Department of Justice since May 2021. Clarke previously served as president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She also managed the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's Office under Eric Schneiderman. In 2019,Clarke successfully represented Taylor Dumpson,the first African American woman student body president of American University,in her landmark case against white supremacists.
John Michael Formella is an American lawyer serving as the 31st Attorney General of New Hampshire since 2021. He previously served as legal counsel for Governor Chris Sununu.
Jonathan Seth Kanter is an American antitrust attorney who has served as assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division since November 16,2021. Prior to this,Kanter worked as an antitrust attorney at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and in private practice.
The Texas Heartbeat Act,Senate Bill 8,is an act of the Texas Legislature that bans abortion after the detection of embryonic or fetal cardiac activity,which normally occurs after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law took effect on September 1,2021,after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for emergency relief from Texas abortion providers. It was the first time a state has successfully imposed a six-week abortion ban since Roe v. Wade,and the first abortion restriction to rely solely on enforcement by private individuals through civil lawsuits,rather than having state officials enforce the law with criminal or civil penalties. The act authorizes members of the public to sue anyone who performs or facilitates an illegal abortion for a minimum of $10,000 in statutory damages per abortion,plus court costs and attorneys' fees.
United States v. Texas,595 U.S. ___ (2021),was a United States Supreme Court case that involved the Texas Heartbeat Act,also known as Senate Bill 8 or SB8,a state law that bans abortion once a "fetal heartbeat" is detected,typically six weeks into pregnancy. A unique feature of the Act,and challenges to it,is the delegation of enforcement to any and all private individuals who are authorized by the Act to file civil actions against abortion providers who violate it,and aiders and abetters,while state and local officials are prohibited from doing so. Opponents stated that the Act went against the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade,which,prior to its overturn in 2022,banned states from prohibiting abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy in favor of the woman's right to privacy guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
Task Force KleptoCapture is a United States Department of Justice unit established in March 2022 with the goal of enforcing sanctions on Russian oligarchs in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
