Memorandum for the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and All United States Attorneys: Balancing Public Safety with the Preservation of Civil Rights

The record

Jurisdiction

United States

Level

Federal

Authority

28 U.S.C. 509, 510

Issued

2020-04-27 Apr. 27, 2020

Effective

2020-04-27

In force

Apr. 27, 2020 to June 30, 2020

Quarters

2020 Q2

2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3

Limitation types

Other

Addressees

• Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
• all United States Attorneys

Functions reached

• Context: the federal government's own recognition (Apr. 27, 2020) that State and local orders imposed 'reasonable and temporary restrictions' on religious institutions

Collection

Religious Organizations and Nonprofits SEC-16

Operative words

Now, I am directing each of our United States Attorneys to also be on the lookout for state and local directives that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.... even in times of emergency, when reasonable and temporary restrictions are placed on rights, the First Amendment and federal statutory law prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers.... I am therefore directing the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Eric Dreiband, and Matthew Schneider, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, to oversee and coordinate our efforts to monitor state and local policies and, if necessary, take action to correct them.

Enforcement

Notes