DOJ Civil Rights Division

DOJ Civil Rights Division Posting for American Indian Law Students (Volunteer)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is interested in receiving applications from Native American law students for its volunteer summer internship program. Please find information and links below. To the extent you can disseminate this recruitment information to Native American law students or others that can help us spread the word, it would be much appreciated. We are accepting applications now for the Summer 2013. Please call or email me if you have any questions.

Volunteer Internship Opportunities

The Civil Rights Division offers competitive student volunteer internship positions in Washington, D.C. each academic semester, including the summer, for both law and undergraduate students. Interns gain a unique and exciting view of the work and mission of the Division.

The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in voting, education, employment, housing, police services, public accommodations and facilities, and federally funded and conducted programs.

Interns will assist Division attorneys or specialists in legal and factual research, prepare documents and exhibits, interview witnesses, summarize depositions, analyze records, and other case-related work. Some sections may also involve interns in policy-related assignments. Given the nature of the work and the high quality of its staff, the Division expects interns to be able to grasp issues quickly, complete work thoroughly and accurately, and write clearly and concisely. These positions are without compensation or may be used for work-study credit.

Eligibility: Applicants must be U.S. citizens; dual citizens will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The following students are eligible to apply: undergraduate students who are enrolled at least half-time; first-year (second semester), second- and third-year law students; and law school graduates who are enrolled in graduate law programs (e.g., L.L.M. programs) at least half-time. All students must be in good academic standing and will be required to provide official documentation from their school. First-year, first-semester law students may apply after December 1 for internships the following summer.

How to Apply: Interested students should submit a resume, brief writing sample (no more than 5 pages), transcript (unofficial is acceptable) and a cover letter describing your specific qualifications, listing the section where you want to be considered, and providing the time period you are available to work. Applications must be e-mailed to crt.volunteervacancies@usdoj.gov or faxed to (202) 305-9667. Please include Volunteer Internship in the subject line of your communication.

To learn more about individuals sections within the Civil Rights Division: http://www.justice.gov/crt/employment/sec_desc.php

DOJ Civil Rights Division Resurrected by AG Holder

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the NYTs:

WASHINGTON — Seven months after taking office, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is reshaping the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division by pushing it back into some of the most important areas of American political life, including voting rights, housing, employment, bank lending practices and redistricting after the 2010 census.

As part of this shift, the Obama administration is planning a major revival of high-impact civil rights enforcement against policies, in areas ranging from housing to hiring, where statistics show that minorities fare disproportionately poorly. President George W. Bush’s appointees had discouraged such tactics, preferring to focus on individual cases in which there is evidence of intentional discrimination.

To bolster a unit that has been battered by heavy turnover and a scandal over politically tinged hiring under the Bush administration, the Obama White House has also proposed a hiring spree that would swell the ranks of several hundred civil rights lawyers with more than 50 additional lawyers, a significant increase for a relatively small but powerful division of the government.

The division is “getting back to doing what it has traditionally done,” Mr. Holder said in an interview. “But it’s really only a start. I think the wounds that were inflicted on this division were deep, and it will take some time for them to fully heal.”

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