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: “The Obama administration should be commended for sticking by its principles and the rule of law. The man in custody is a United... Read more »
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 tu... Read more »
Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled, “Mismanagement at the Civil Right Division of the Department of Justice.” During his opening remarks, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement: “Mr. Chairman, once again, I must object to the title of this hearing: ‘Mismanagement at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Ju... Read more »
This afternoon, the Obama administration announced the appointment of Melanie Roussell to the position of Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Following this announcement, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released this statement: “I am delighted to learn that Melanie Roussell, my former Communications Director with the House Judici... Read more »
Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Congressman C. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an investigation into emergency managers in Michigan. Reps. Conyers and Peters issued this statement following their transmission of the letter to the GAO: John Conyers, Jr.: “It is difficult to identify a single instance where an emergency ... Read more »
This afternoon, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled, “The Release of Criminal Detainees by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Policy or Politics?” At the hearing, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement during his opening remarks: “The title of today’s hearing—‘The Release of Criminal Detainees by U.S. Immigration and C... Read more »
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Arizona v. ITCA. The Court was presented with the issue of whether, under the "National Voter Registration Act of 1993" (NVRA), states can demand additional requirements to the federal uniform voter registration form. Since Arizona’s Proposition 200 ballot initiative was approved in November 2004, the state has rejected tens-of-thou... Read more »
Today, President Obama nominated Thomas Perez, the current assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, to the secretary of labor post, following Hilda Solis's retirement. Following this announcement, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement: “I applaud President Obama's nomination of Thomas Perez to become the next Secre... Read more »
Fifty years ago, the United States Supreme Court decided, in a landmark unanimous ruling, that under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment state courts are required to provide an attorney for defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford legal counsel. This requirement already existed under the 6th Amendment at the federal level, but was groundbreaking for extending the right to co... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), along with Representative Howard Coble (R-N.C.), chairman of the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee and Representative Mel Watt (D-N.C.), ranking member of the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee, announced the introduction of legislation to re... Read more »
