美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Let Local People Solve Local Problems,' Memphis Says In Bid To End DOJ Oversight

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Five years ago, the U.S. Justice Department concluded that juvenile¹ courts in Memphis were failing to give children due process. Investigators² uncovered significant racial disparities. And they reached a deal with the federal government to try to fix things. Now with the new president and a new attorney general in charge, local officials in Memphis are asking to terminate that federal oversight³. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE⁴: When the new attorney general, Jeff Sessions, visited Memphis a few weeks ago, he heard an earful from local officials over the breakfast table. Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell told the attorney general it's time to end expensive federal oversight of the juvenile courts because, he says, they've already made a lot of changes. For instance, public defenders⁶ now represent 60 percent of the kids who appear in court, up from none five years ago. Luttrell recently told county commissioners⁷ they can step up and finish the job.

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MARK LUTTRELL, JR.: You all can hold us accountable. You all can step in and do precisely⁸ what DOJ is doing right now. And that's what I would hope you'd do. That's one of the reasons that I made the appeal to D.C. - was to let local people solve local problems.

JOHNSON: But good government advocates say the request is premature⁹.

JOSH SPICKLER: The racial disparities, the disproportionate minority contact, the equal protection deficiencies that were pointed¹⁰ out five years ago have not changed really at all.

JOHNSON: Josh Spickler is a former public defender⁵ in Memphis, who now runs the nonprofit Just City. Spickler says an independent monitor has found the county has made little progress in ensuring white and black children are treated the same way.

SPICKLER: And I would argue that in a county that is 53 percent African-American, it is the single most important item that this oversight should be addressing.

JOHNSON: Spickler sent his own letter to the Justice Department, urging its civil rights lawyers stay on the case. The controversy¹¹ in Memphis represents part of a much larger debate. President Trump¹² and his attorney general are skeptical¹³ of federal involvement in local law enforcement matters. In fact, Jeff Sessions has signaled he'll cut back on investigations¹⁴ of discrimination or excessive force by local police and courts. A Justice Department spokesman says federal authorities are reviewing the county's request. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

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