The Civil Rights Division (CRT or Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, religion, familial status, national origin, and citizenship status.
The Special Litigation Section (SPL) protects civil rights in the following areas: 1) the rights of people in state or local institutions, including: jails, prisons, juvenile detention facilities, and health care facilities for persons with disabilities; 2) the rights of individuals with disabilities to receive services in their communities, rather than in institutions; 3) the rights of people who interact with state or local police or sheriffs' departments; 4) the rights of youth involved in the juvenile justice system; 5) the rights of people to have safe access to reproductive health care clinics; and 6) the rights of people to practice their religion while confined to state and local institutions. We can also act on behalf of people at risk of harm in these areas.
SPL seeks one or more attorneys to serve a one-year reimbursable detail; the detail may be extended with the mutual consent of all parties. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and consistent with District of Columbia guidance and Department of Justice policy, CRT is in a maximum telework posture with personnel working remotely, with exceptions for mission critical travel or onsite work. The expectation is that the detailee will work remotely, unless the Section determines the need for business travel or meetings/limited onsite work at SPL’s 4CON building at 150 M Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.
The detailee will work in the Section’s police or corrections practice group:
- Police Practices Group: works to protect people's constitutional and other federal rights during law enforcement interactions, including uses of force, and stops, searches, or arrests; or
- Corrections Practices Group: works to protect people's constitutional and other federal rights involving conditions and practices in jails and prisons.
The attorney will be responsible for duties such as, but not
limited to: (1) handling personally, or as a team member, sensitive
and/or complex investigations, litigation, negotiations;
monitoring/enforcement of systemic reform; (2) working with the
Section’s management team to develop and establish strategies and
priorities for police misconduct and corrections enforcement; (3)
working with U.S. Attorney’s Offices, DOJ components, and other federal
agencies to implement strategies for effective information sharing and
case development; and
(4) conducting outreach to witnesses, victims, and those who are affected by the Section’s work.
The attorney will be responsible for screening and developing new
matters; conducting comprehensive investigations involving onsite
observation and inspection, interviews, and work with experts; analyzing
data; drafting written recommendations including legal analyses;
litigating all aspects of the Section’s enforcement cases; and
negotiating, monitoring, and enforcing settlement agreements. Litigation
associated with these investigations is complex, involving extensive
discovery, pretrial motions practice, preliminary injunction hearings,
trials, and post judgment enforcement and contempt proceedings.
Enforcement of agreements in these cases is also complex, involving
extensive negotiation of policy and training, onsite inspections and
interviews, and collaboration with a variety of external stakeholders.
Applicants are encouraged to review the Section's website, which contains additional information regarding each practice group.
Candidates
must be individuals on a permanent (not time limited) attorney position
within the Department of Justice, possess a J.D. from an American Bar
Association accredited law school, be an active member of a bar in good
standing (any jurisdiction), and possess five years post-professional
law degree experience. Applicants must have strong, demonstrated
qualifications in the following areas: academic achievement; substantive
knowledge and expertise in the laws, rules and regulations applicable
to the work of the section or substantially similar laws, rules and
regulations; written and oral communication skills; the ability to
analyze complex issues; skill and experience working collaboratively and
productively with others; organizational skills; professional judgment;
initiative; and the ability to excel in a fast-paced, demanding
environment. In addition, applicants must have outstanding professional
references.
Preferred Qualifications: Given the nature and
volume of this work, the Section generally seeks candidates with
significant litigation and organizational change experience. Applicants
with one or more of the following qualifications are preferred: (1)
civil or criminal trial experience; (2) federal civil or criminal
litigation experience; (3) experience handling complex investigations;
(4) demonstrated experience negotiating agreements; (5) demonstrated
experience enforcing systemic reform agreements; (6) demonstrated
experience working through the process of organizational change; (7)
demonstrated sound professional judgment, including the ability to
develop and implement effective advocacy strategies and balance
competing priorities; (8) substantive knowledge of law enforcement
misconduct, corrections, and other applicable laws; and (9) demonstrated
experience identifying, developing, and implementing outreach efforts
or public presentations.
Judicial clerkships, moot court, clinical experience, and skills and
experience working cooperatively and productively with a range of
people, such as charging parties, witnesses, respondents, disadvantaged
or disenfranchised groups, opposing counsel, judicial or administrative
officials, advocacy groups, law enforcement personnel, and the staff of
other federal or state governmental agencies are also preferred.
CRT encourages all interested and qualified attorneys to apply for this position. Individuals interested in this detail opportunity should submit a cover letter, a resume, your most recent performance appraisal, and most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) that is not an award to CRD.vacancies@usdoj.gov. Please indicate in your cover letter a preference for either the police or corrections practice group as described above. The subject line of your email should include #21-CRT-DTL-004.
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
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Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected genetic information, pregnancy, status as a parent, or any other nonmerit-based factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.
Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.
Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.
Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.
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