Prometheus 6

In addition to the article linked in the previous post, The Boston Globe gave us three examples of the sterling sorts the Justice Department is hiring to protect the rights of white men against us scary minorities and women.

Case: Georgia photo ID voting law

Year: 2005

Issue: Georgia enacted a law requiring voters to present a photo ID card, charging $20 for voters who didn't already have a driver's license or a passport. Five career Justice Department officials reviewed the law to see whether it discriminated against blacks. According to an internal memo that was later leaked, four of the five recommended objecting to the law because blacks were less likely to own licenses or passports, but the Civil Rights Division cleared it anyway. A judge later blocked the law, comparing it to a Jim Crow-era poll tax.

Attorney: The lone member of the review committee who favored the law was hired in May 2005. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi Law School and a member of both the Federalist Society and the Christian Legal Society.

That's not my favorite one though. 

Case: Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries v. Glover

Year: 2006

Issue: A Christian group sued a public library for preventing religious organizations from using its facilities to hold worship services. The division filed a ``friend-of-the-court" brief saying that the library policy violates the Christian group's civil rights.

Attorney: The brief was written by a Notre Dame University Law School graduate who was hired in November 2004. He is a member of two groups that seek to integrate Catholic faith in law and society. He also clerked for then-appeals court Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., a conservative whom President Bush recently elevated to the Supreme Court.

That's not my favorite one either.

Case: United States v. Southern Illinois University

Year: 2006

Issue: The university offered paid fellowships for minorities and women. The Civil Rights Division sued the university for discriminating against white men. To avoid a court battle, the university dropped the program.

Attorney: The case was handled by a graduate of Indiana University Law School who was hired in February 2004. He is a member of the Federalist Society and the Republican National Lawyers Association. Previously, he worked for the Center for Individual Rights, a nonprofit group that has filed many lawsuits opposing affirmative action in higher education.

THAT'S my favorite one. And the reason it's my favorite?

But SIU, who was the first school mentioned in the NY Times article and the one that reached a consent decree involving the Bridge to the Doctorate program, is not the lead institution in the group that works the program in their area. That would be the University of Chicago.