July 30, 2025
DOJ abandons cases against Louisiana for holding prisoners past release and South Carolina for warehousing mentally ill
Biden DOJ filed civil rights lawsuits against Louisiana and South Carolina in December 2024
Louisiana case: State held thousands of prisoners past their release dates for weeks, months, or over a year
Between Jan-Apr 2022, over 25% of released Louisiana prisoners were held past their release dates
Of those held over, 24% spent 90+ additional days behind bars beyond their sentences
South Carolina case: State institutionalized thousands with serious mental illness, some for decades
Inspector Kimberly Tissot described facilities as roach-infested, urine-soaked, lacking medicine
Federal judges suspended both lawsuits in February 2025 at states' request with DOJ support
DOJ Special Litigation Section shrank from 90 employees (60 attorneys) in January to ~25 (15 attorneys) by June
At least 7 attorneys working on these cases left the DOJ
True or false: By mid-2025, the Trump administration"s Department of Justice (DOJ) had halted two major civil rights lawsuits—against Louisiana for detaining 141 people beyond their release dates in May 2024 and against South Carolina for warehousing mentally ill individuals in restrictive facilities—dropped racial discrimination cases, abandoned Biden-era police misconduct investigations, and canceled federal oversight of troubled law enforcement agencies.
Who was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice?
Has the Trump Justice Department abandoned investigations into police misconduct since January 2025 (ProPublica (April 14, 2025))?
In its December 9, 2024 complaint (Press Release No. 24-1530), how did the U.S. Department of Justice allege that South Carolina violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12132) and the integration mandate of Olmstead v. L.C. (527 U.S. 581 (1999)) by segregating more than 1,000 adults with serious mental illness in adult care homes instead of providing required community-based services?
Did federal judges in February 2025 grant stays in the DOJ’s civil rights lawsuits against Louisiana’s Department of Public Safety and Corrections and South Carolina’s restrictive mental‐health group‐home system at the states’ request, with support from Trump’s Justice Department?
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Start QuizTrump's Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights - opposes consent decrees
Inspector who documented South Carolina facility conditions
Unit that brought cases - lost 2/3 of staff since January