World News – CA – Judge blocks Trump commission’s ‘secret’ report on police and civil justice

Before a US Federal judge on Thursday halted the work of a Trump administration law enforcement committee – claiming it had violated open meeting laws – the committee had been warned of the removal of public participation by several of its own participants, according to internal files reviewed by Reuters

The commission had planned to present a series of proposals recommending freeing up new powers for the police shortly before the presidential election in November, according to the documents.It also called for strengthening due process guarantees for officers accused of ‘wrongdoing, according to draft proposals reviewed by Reuters

But the covert process to produce the planned report has drawn criticism from some law enforcement officials who helped draft the document, according to internal emails from attendees The Stop Work Order of the commission, of US District Judge John Bates, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (NAACP LDF), alleging that the commission had not given notice of public hearings and allowed law enforcement groups to exert undue influence

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The group’s 18 commissioners include law enforcement officials at federal, state and local level, but no civil rights activist, defense attorney, or large city police officer

Among the attendees who warned the panel about shutting down the process was Fayetteville, North Carolina Police Chief, Gina Hawkins, commission member In a May 11 email reviewed by Reuters, she told commission chairman Phil Keith that drafting recommendations without hearing all parties created the appearance of a predetermined conclusion

Then on Aug 13, she complained that the draft contained too many quotes from Trump and Barr, rather than experts who provided input to the commission, saying work « should never be political. »

Justice Department spokeswoman Kristina Mastropasqua said Keith acknowledged Hawkins’ question and told him the reports would not be final until all testimony was received

Two local prosecutors assigned to smaller task forces that support the commission – John Choi of Ramsey County, Minnesota, and Mark Dupree of Wyandotte County, Kansas – wrote to the panel on May 29 to express concern that its recommendations would not sufficiently address disparities in policing « and » would erode local discretion « 

Choi has since called for his name to be removed from the final report He told Reuters the commission refused to give him access to recommendations developed by other task forces Dupree did not respond to a request for comment

The White House declined to comment on the panel’s work or the court ruling, referring the issues to the Justice Department

Ahead of Judge Bates’ ruling on Thursday, Mastropasqua declined to comment on other aspects of the commission’s work or the draft proposals being considered by Reuters Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec declined to comment on the ruling after its publication

In unveiling the panel last year, Trump announced he would produce a report that would be applauded by law enforcement He told a conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) that the administration would immediately start implementing the commission’s best recommendations once it released them.

« They will have them soon, » he said, « because most of them already know a lot of answers before they start; you get that »

Concerns about systemic racism in the police were not addressed in any of the preliminary sections of the document viewed by Reuters

The lack of diverse views prompted the NAACP LDF to sue the commission, Barr, and key commission members, accusing them of violating the Federal Advisory Committee (FACA) Act by failing to provide notice of public hearings and making them only available to law enforcement

The government denied the civil rights group access to « a representative voice on the Commission, » Bates wrote in its decision Thursday The court ordered the committee to stop work and provide timely notice of the meeting, and ordered Barr to appoint a federal official to ensure the committee has a « fairly balanced composition » Bates banned from the commission to issue a report until it has complied with federal town halls and transparency laws

Amid complaints about the lack of miscellaneous contributions, the commission actively sought insider opinions from law enforcement, according to commission files reviewed by Reuters

Tim Richardson, lobbyist for the Fraternal Order of the Police, the world’s largest sworn law enforcement organization, is not publicly named a member of a group working on the project But an email from the April 10 reveals that he was introduced as a member of a group developing the “Respect for Law Enforcement” chapter to others working on the chapter. His comments are cited in the footnote of an August draft to support a recommendation urging Congress to develop « a uniform minimum level of due process » for police

Richardson did not respond to requests for comment The Justice Department said in court documents that Richardson was not a member of the task force but had been retained as an expert

The commission’s draft proposals, obtained by Reuters through public record requests, provide a window into how Trump’s Justice Department views law enforcement’s role in a national upheaval linked to police murders of black men and women

The commission began its work ahead of the May murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality Attorney General William Barr said in January that the commission would recommend best practices to a time when « criminal threats and social conditions have changed the responsibilities and roles of the police »

The proposals included allowing officers accused of wrongdoing to view body camera footage before speaking to internal investigators; increase funding for controversial facial recognition technologies; give police access to encrypted cell phones; and increased sanctions for illegal immigration

The draft recommendations are also aimed at « progressive prosecutors » who advocate the elimination of the cash bond and the non-charge of petty drug offenses

Other recommendations urged Congress to strengthen due process safeguards for police officers accused of wrongdoing and ask the Department of Justice to consistently assert its support for « qualified immunity », a precedent Supreme Court which protects officers accused of injuring or killing suspects in civil proceedings

Many proposals calling for legislative action would likely not win the support of a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives

An August draft chapter made multiple recommendations reflecting administration concerns that some locally elected prosecutors too readily address low-level offenders, such as those charged with possession of marijuana Among the proposed reforms, including calling on states to create oversight committees to review pricing decisions

« When a prosecutor unilaterally decides not to prosecute an entire category of crimes … that prosecutor is usurping legislative authority, » he says

Draft tech chapter calls for increased funding for facial recognition technologies, though government-funded study last year found higher error rates in face identification African American and Asian

The project also recommends a legislative solution to address recent FBI concerns, after struggling to access the encrypted iPhone of a Royal Saudi Air Force intern who killed three US sailors during a attack in December against a US naval base

« Companies are building electronic devices and platforms that apply ‘collateral-proof’ encryption, » reads a June draft chapter « These companies blind country to preventable attacks « 

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Donald Trump, Law, US Department of Justice, William Barr