The Trump administration is freezing any new civil rights investigations as part of a radical overhaul of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Among other things, it means that if a police department is accused of abuses and discrimination, the federal government will not be there to investigate, pursue lawsuits and oversee reform. Two pending police consent decrees have been thrown into doubt, though they have strong local support.
On January 21, a freeze on any new civil rights litigation was ordered “until further notice,” as the Washington Post reported. While that lasts, there will be no “new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest.” That will be welcome to abusive police departments or discriminatory employers, for example. However, legal cases that are already in court could continue as long as those judges hear them.
Meanwhile the DOJ Civil Rights Division appellate chief, Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, and her deputy are being transferred to a new “Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group,” designed to combat resistance to deportation efforts, as Bloomberg reported on January 25. The pair previously managed lawyers on cases related to issues including policing, transgender rights, affirmative action and discrimination. President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Civil Rights Division, formerly led by Kristin Clarke, is conservative “culture warrior” attorney Harmeet Dhillon.
Additionally, as the Associated Press reported on January 22, a DOJ memo has instructed its attorneys to inform leadership of any consent decrees or settlements reached in the last 90 days by the Biden administration, and which Trump’s DOJ “may wish to reconsider.” That’s a clear sign that Trump’s DOJ has two pending consent decrees—designed to impose reforms in the wake of high-profile police killings—in its crosshairs.
Just as former President Joe Biden was transitioning out of office, the DOJ was finalizing consent decrees in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Louisville, Kentucky—cities where police killed Black residents George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, respectively, in 2020. Besides sparking a nationwide protest movement that year, the killings prompted DOJ investigations of the cities’ police departments.
Earlier in January, as Filter reported, the Minneapolis City Council approved the terms of a consent decree negotiated with the DOJ aimed at overhauling its police department, which has still to be signed off by a federal-court judge. In Louisville, the city and police have also agreed to enter a consent decree under federal supervision, but the parties remain in court hashing out the details, amid police-union objections.
“We hope they can find ways to comply and go through with the order.”
The new DOJ directive spells major uncertainty for these processes. A continuing ban on any new court submissions from the feds might mean the end of the Louisville effort.
Henal Patel, the law and policy director at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, noted the peril of the Trump administration’s moves, but also that current cases might still move forward. The city of Newark, New Jersey, and its police have been under a consent decree since 2014. Her organization is part of the monitoring team that assesses how reforms are being implemented.
“During the first Trump admin, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said they would not enforce any more consent decrees,” Patel told Filter. “But in Newark, we were already in the middle of one with a judge. The court said it would continue—so there are avenues at play. I’m not quite sure what options there are when they’re at the beginning [of the process] in these two cities, but we hope they can find ways to comply and go through with the order.”
Biden’s DOJ Civil Rights Division, under Clarke’s leadership, pursued enforcement against police departments accused of widespread abuse, discrimination and excessive force. That was in stark contrast to the first Trump administration, which had largely avoided investigating and prosecuting such cases. The main tool here is the DOJ’s “pattern and practice” investigation, where it gathers evidence on police departments to see if they habitually violate the constitutional rights of their city’s residents. These investigations may focus on how and when police use lethal and nonlethal force; how they treat groups like Black or Native American residents, or people with disabilities; and whether they undermine free-speech and protest rights.
A consent decree, which may result from such an investigation, is a legally binding agreement between the federal government and a city or agency to impose reforms and accountability. When the DOJ has sufficient evidence to show that a city has broken the law, instead of going to trial it can negotiate a settlement where the city must submit to independent monitoring and court oversight. Cities’ implementation of policing reforms will be measured over time to make sure they uphold the agreement.
“Consent decrees are not perfect,” Patel said. “There is a lot to be done beyond them …[But] they are crucial, and a vital part of helping rebuild trust between police and communities, which we know is needed. Police misconduct leads to an erosion of public trust. The only way to rebuild that is to have this tool that has been in place for decades now.”
“I can say, things are better than they were before the consent decree,” she said of the situation in Newark. “There was a long history and pattern and practice in Newark of police misconduct. It has taken time—almost 10 years—but you can see there are better relationships, we have a community street team, there are things that have helped where we are better today than we certainly were 10 years ago.”
“Regardless of the Trump administration’s announcement, we will be moving forward with the terms outlined in the consent decree.”
Some politicians in Louisville and Minneapolis are already intervening in support of their consent decrees moving forward.
Kentucky Congressman Morgan McGarvey (D), who represents most of Louisville, wrote to the DOJ, as local outlet WLKY reported, urging it to let the process continue.
“I am deeply concerned by reports that the Department of Justice (DOJ) may seek to reconsider settlements and consent decrees negotiated by the Biden administration and agreed to by all parties involved,” he said. “This policy change is shortsighted and dangerous, and it could make my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, less safe. There is consensus in our community that the reforms included in the settlement are appropriate and necessary, and Louisville Metro Government and Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) accept the consent decree. I implore DOJ not to interfere in the process of finalizing Louisville’s consent decree.”
Signiticantly, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Police Chief Paul Humphrey are supportive of continuing the reform process even if the DOJ pulls out. “Regardless of what happens in federal court, Louisville Metro Government and [Louisville Metro Police Department] will move forward and honor our commitment to meaningful improvements and reforms,” Greenberg said.
Angela Cooper, communications director for the ACLU of Kentucky, told Filter, “Louisville’s Consent Decree is still awaiting approval from the Western District Federal Court, but that only applies to the oversight of the decree. Louisville Metro Government, Louisville Metro Police Department, and the DOJ have all signed the decree and agreed to its contents, and a memo from the Trump Administration doesn’t change that … The people of Louisville have waited too long for police reform and some form of accountability for the officers who are sworn to serve and protect.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) has expressed similar support for the reform process even if Trump pulls out.
“Regardless of the Trump administration’s announcement, we will be moving forward with the terms outlined in the consent decree,” he told local outlet KARE. “Our city worked hard on this agreement, we are prepared to implement the reforms and we are going to get it done.” The city has already begun working with an independent monitor, Effective Law Enforcement For All (ELEFA), to implement the consent-decree terms, and says that partnership will continue regardless.
“We need states to step up and do everything in their power to shore up and ensure the rights of the people.”
Alicia Granse, staff attorney for the ACLU of Minnesota, told Filter, “The goal of the consent decree is to improve public safety, something the Trump administration says is a top priority. There does not appear to be any good and legally sound reasons for the court not to approve the agreement and for the parties to move forward with enforcement.”
However, a local advocate, Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, is skeptical that the city would fulfill its promises without pressure from the federal government. “We could have done [reforms] without the DOJ being here, but the city never did,” she said. “I worry that the city isn’t serious about this and won’t actually make the changes that need to be made.”
Patel said that in the absence of leadership from the Trump administration, cities and states need to take their own action to address abuses and hold police departments accountable. One example is in Paterson, New Jersey, where state Attorney General Matt Platkin took over control of the police department in 2023. That arrangement, however, was struck down by a court—a decision which Platkin is now appealing to the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
“Everything they can, they should be doing,” Patel said. “We need states to step up and do everything in their power to shore up and ensure the rights of the people. That means attorneys general, the state legislature and the governor should codify and pass basic human and civil rights into state law … The states need to take a look and make sure the people still have these rights.”
Update, January 29: This article has been edited to include the statements from ACLU state chapters.
Photograph of police in Minneapolis by Chad Davis via Flickr/Creative Commons 2.0