Federal Judge Orders Presidential Law Enforcement Commission to Halt Work

The presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, established by President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr in January 2020, has come under scrutiny for violating federal law by solely including members of federal, state, and local law enforcement rather than multiple perspectives such as civil rights activists, defense attorneys, and mental health professionals.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a lawsuit claiming that the commission violated laws that are set forth for all federal commissions. In addition to violating federal law by failing to include members with different perspectives, the 18-member commission also did not file a charter, post public notice of its meetings or open them to the public as required.

In response, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington issued a ruling in which he blocked the commission from publishing its report and recommendations, despite the fact that the draft report had already been sent to Attorney General Barr. While Judge Bates has yet to issue an injunction, he said he would order the commission to comply with all aspects of the law and diversify its membership before the report could be released to the public.

Bates wrote, “Especially in 2020, when racial justice and civil rights issues involving law enforcement have erupted across the nation, one may legitimately question whether it is sound policy to have a group with little diversity of experience examine, behind closed doors, the sensitive issues facing law enforcement and the criminal justice system in America today.”

The commission compiled their report following 15 working groups comprised of over 100 members and focused on topics such as “Reduction of Crime,” “Respect for Law Enforcement,” “Data and Reporting,” and “Homeland Security.”

The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) states that a committee’s membership be “fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed,” so that its recommendations “will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority.” In this case, only 5 of the 112 members in the working groups were not connected with policing.

NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund attorney Natasha Merle explains that the report is incomplete without different viewpoints and the commission still has an opportunity to incorporate these views and give other a seat at the table. She said, “We would say a seat at the table is allowing substantive comments, hearings and a new report. For there to be any real relief, to really get at the crux of the issue, you would have to incorporate these members’ viewpoints and put them into the report.”

John J. Choi, a prosecutor in Ramsey County, Minn., resigned from a working group of the committee because he thought “[the commission] had no intention of engaging in a thoughtful and open analysis, but was intent on providing cover for a predetermined agenda that ignores the lessons of the past.”

Lawyers from the Department of Justice argued in favor of the commission, saying it does not fall under federal committee law, known as FACA. They claim it is exempted under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, or UMRA, which does not require diverse membership or public notice of a committee’s meetings if meetings are held between federal and elected officials.