The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is reportedly undergoing significant policy and organizational restructuring according to a recent New York Times article. These changes could lead to new hiring within the division and a revamping of what has long been considered an historic division within DOJ that recently has been under some serious scrutiny.
To the new hiring, the article conveys that the Obama administration is working to reverse many of the current trends of the Civil Rights Division. With that comes new hiring. “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 has had a significant presence within the DOJ from the height of the civil rights movement to modern day (including an episode when former President Clinton attempted to appoint Professor Lani Guinier to lead the division). Only time will tell to see how many new appointments there are, but significant policy shifting should be expected.