Senate OKs Civil Rights-Era Cold-Case Unit

Discrimination case a 'witch hunt': lawyer

(NEWSER) - Arizona's embattled Sheriff Joe Arpaio is hitting back at Justice Department allegations that his office shows "a pervasive culture of discriminatory bias" against Hispanics. "Don't come to use me as a whipping boy for a national, international problem," he told reporters, saying he has "an idea of the politics involved in law enforcement," CNN reports. "I don't want to say it's all politics, but everyone I'm talking about happens to be Democrats," he said. His lawyer called the case a "witch hunt." More»

Arpaio conducted 'egregious' racial profiling: Justice Department

(NEWSER) - Tough times ahead for America's Toughest Sheriff : The Justice Department has accused Joe Arpaio of major civil rights violations. Arpaio's office committed what a top Justice official called the most egregious racial profiling he'd ever come across, the AP reports. Arpaio also conducted immigration "sweeps" prompted by reports of Latinos simply gathering without committing crimes, according to the department's report. Now, Arpaio will have to establish anti-discrimination policies under a judge's supervision—or face a federal lawsuit. More»

Thousands rally in DC for more aggressive prosecution

(NEWSER) - Thousands of marchers converged near the Justice Department in Washington, DC, today, to protest what they say is a lax attitude toward prosecuting hate crimes. The marchers, led by Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, cited the Jena 6 controversy in Louisiana and a subsequent spate of incidents involving nooses or swastikas, the Washington Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - After pleading guilty, five former security officials in South Africa received suspended jail sentences today for their involvement in a bizarre, apartheid-era murder plot. Onetime law and order minister Adriaan Volk and four others admitted they had tried to kill Frank Chikane, a priest and anti-apartheid activist, in 1989 by lining his underwear with a deadly nerve toxin. More»

Benjamin Crump: 'The jury is the American people'

(NEWSER) - The lawyers fighting Trayvon Martin's case are seeking more than justice in a court of law. Attorneys at the black-owned law firm of Parks & Crump took their case to the public right away, contacting media and Al Sharpton , pushing for the release of 911 tapes, and helping to organize rallies. "We need to fight first in the court of public opinion," Benjamin Crump tells the Miami Herald . "The jury is the American people.” More»