Press Releases

Today marks the 59^th anniversary of the seminal civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). In this case, the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson,163 U.S. 537 (1896) which held that separate but equal treatment of blacks and whites was constitutional. Oliver Brown, along with a collection with thirteen African American parents filed suit against the Board of Education of the City of Topeka, Kansas after their children were denied admittance to the closest all White elementary school in their district. Mr.

(DETROIT) – This evening, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) gave the keynote address at an event in Detroit honoring the work of Gideon's Promise, an organization working to recruit and train public defenders. The event comes on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright, in which the Court held that state courts are required to provide an attorney for defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford legal counsel. Following his participation in the event, Rep. Conyers issued this statement:

This week, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed unanimously, by voice vote, a resolution establishing an, "Over-Criminalization Task Force." Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) will serve as an ex officio member of the task force. Following the establishment of this task force, Rep. Conyers issued this statement:

This morning, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, alongside the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Economic Growth, held a hearing entitled, "DOJ's Quid pro Quo with St. Paul: A Whistleblower's Perspective." Following the reading of opening statements at the hearing, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued this statement:

"I am deeply disappointed in my colleagues from across the aisle for holding a joint hearing this morning that was misleading and not based in fact.

Today the Senate voted 69 to 27 to pass S. 336, the "Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013." This legislation would give states the option to require the collection of sales and use taxes already owed under state law by out-of-state businesses, rather than rely on consumers to remit those taxes to the states. Under the current tax loophole, while brick-and-mortar retailers collect sales and use taxes from customers who make purchases in their stores, many online and catalog retailers do not collect the same taxes.

Today, President Obama nominated Congressman Melvin L. "Mel" Watt (D-N.C.) to serve as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the independent federal regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage financiers. Rep. Watt has represented the 12^th Congressional District of North Carolina since 1993, and he currently serves as the ranking member of the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. In addition, Rep.

Last night, in a proceeding convened in a Boston hospital room, a federal magistrate read criminal charges against Dzhokar Tsarnaev and advised him of his legal rights. Following reports of this proceeding, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement:

Today, the House of Representatives voted 288 to 127 to pass H.R. 624, the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act" (CISPA). This legislation overrides current privacy laws to permit private companies to share information with the federal government if there is a suspected cyber threat, but does not require the companies to remove unrelated private information of customers from what they turn over. Under the bill, companies would also enjoy broad liability protection. Following passage of the bill, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued this statement: