This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-10-256T 
entitled 'U.S. Department of Justice: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen 
the Civil Rights Division's Ability to Manage and Report on Its 
Enforcement Efforts' which was released on December 3, 2009. 

This text file was formatted by the U.S. Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to be accessible to users with visual impairments, as part 
of a longer term project to improve GAO products' accessibility. Every 
attempt has been made to maintain the structural and data integrity of 
the original printed product. Accessibility features, such as text 
descriptions of tables, consecutively numbered footnotes placed at the 
end of the file, and the text of agency comment letters, are provided 
but may not exactly duplicate the presentation or format of the printed 
version. The portable document format (PDF) file is an exact electronic 
replica of the printed version. We welcome your feedback. Please E-mail 
your comments regarding the contents or accessibility features of this 
document to Webmaster@gao.gov. 

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright 
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed 
in its entirety without further permission from GAO. Because this work 
may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the 
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this 
material separately. 

Testimony: 

Before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil 
Liberties, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO: 

For Release on Delivery: 
Expected at 10:00 a.m. EST:
Thursday, December 3, 2009: 

U.S. Department of Justice: 

Opportunities Exist to Strengthen the Civil Rights Division's Ability 
to Manage and Report on Its Enforcement Efforts: 

Statement of Eileen R. Larence, Director: 
Homeland Security and Justice: 

GAO-10-256T: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-10-256T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on the 
Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, Committee on the 
Judiciary, House of Representatives. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) 
is the primary federal entity charged with enforcing federal statutes 
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, 
religion, and national origin (i.e., protected classes). GAO was asked 
to review the Division’s enforcement efforts and its Interactive Case 
Management System (ICM). This testimony addresses (1) the activities 
the Division undertook from fiscal years 2001 through 2007 to implement 
its enforcement responsibilities through its Employment Litigation, 
Housing and Civil Enforcement, Voting, and Special Litigation sections, 
and (2) additional data that could be collected using ICM to assist in 
reporting on the four sections’ enforcement efforts. This statement is 
based on GAO products issued in September and October 2009. 

What GAO Found: 

From fiscal years 2001 through 2007, the Civil Rights Division 
initiated matters and filed cases to implement its enforcement 
responsibilities through the four sections. The Employment Litigation 
Section initiated 3,212 matters and filed 60 cases as plaintiff under 
federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination. Most matters 
(3,087) were referred by other agencies. Of the 11 pattern or practices 
cases––cases that attempt to show that the defendant systematically 
engaged in discriminatory activities––9 involved claims of 
discrimination in hiring and the most common protected class was race 
(7). The Housing and Civil Enforcement Section initiated 947 matters 
and participated in 277 cases under federal statutes prohibiting 
discrimination in housing, credit transactions, and certain places of 
public accommodation. Most (456 of 517) Fair Housing Act (FHA) matters 
were initiated under its pattern or practice authority, primarily 
alleging discrimination on the basis of race or disability and 
involving land use/zoning/local government or rental issues. Most (250 
of 269) cases filed as plaintiff included an FHA claim. The FHA cases 
primarily involved rental issues (146) and alleged discrimination on 
the basis of disability (115) or race (70). The Voting Section 
initiated 442 matters and filed 56 cases to enforce federal statutes 
that protect the voting rights of racial and language minorities, and 
disabled and illiterate persons, among others. The Section initiated 
most matters (367) and filed a majority of cases (39) as plaintiff 
under the Voting Rights Act, primarily on behalf of language minority 
groups (246 and 30). The Special Litigation Section initiated 693 
matters and filed 31 cases as plaintiff to enforce federal civil rights 
statutes on institutional conditions (e.g., protecting people in 
nursing homes), the conduct of law enforcement agencies, access to 
reproductive health facilities and places of worship, and the exercise 
of religious freedom of institutionalized persons. The largest number 
of matters initiated and closed (544 of 693) involved institutional 
conditions (373), as did the cases filed (27). 

Information on the specific protected classes and subjects related to 
matters and cases and the reasons for closing matters were not 
systematically maintained in ICM because the Division did not require 
sections to capture these data. As a result, the availability and 
accuracy of these data varied among the sections. For example, the 
Employment Litigation Section did not capture protected class and 
subject data for more than 80 percent of its matters. In contrast, 
these data were consistently recorded in ICM for the Housing and Civil 
Enforcement Section, which requires that protected class and subject 
data be recorded in ICM. In addition, congressional committees have 
requested information on reasons the Division did not pursue matters, 
including instances in which Division managers did not approve a 
section’s recommendation to proceed with a case. However, ICM does not 
include a discrete field for capturing the reasons that matters are 
closed and Division officials we interviewed could not identify 
instances in which Division managers did not approve a section’s 
recommendation to proceed with a case. By requiring sections to record 
such information, the Division could strengthen its ability to account 
for its enforcement efforts. 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO previously recommended that the Division, among other things, 
require sections to record data on protected class and subject in the 
Division’s case management system, and determine how sections should be 
required to record data in the system on the reasons for closing 
matters. DOJ concurred. The Division plans to require all Division 
sections to record data on protected class and subject in its case 
management system as well as upgrade the system to include a field on 
reasons for closing matters and require all sections to record data in 
this field. 

View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-256T] or key 
components. For more information, contact Eileen R. Larence (202) 512-
8777 or larencee@gao.gov. 

[End of section] 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I am pleased to be here today to discuss the enforcement efforts of the 
Civil Rights Division's (Division) Employment Litigation, Housing and 
Civil Enforcement, Voting, and Special Litigation[Footnote 1] sections 
from fiscal years 2001 through 2007, as well as the case management 
system the Division uses to track and manage these efforts.[Footnote 2] 
Established after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957,[Footnote 
3] the Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is the primary 
federal entity charged with enforcing federal statutes prohibiting 
discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and 
national origin. The Division's mission has expanded to include the 
enforcement of laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, 
voting, public accommodations, education, and the rights of 
institutionalized persons. To carry out these broad enforcement 
responsibilities, the Division initiates thousands of matters (e.g., an 
investigation of a complaint or an allegation of discrimination 
referred by another federal agency) and hundreds of cases each year. In 
October 2000, the Division implemented the Interactive Case Management 
System (ICM) as its official system to track, count, and capture 
performance measurement information for all matters and cases from 
their inception to their conclusion and to assist staff in their 
casework. According to Division documentation, ICM was also designed to 
serve as a tool for senior management to oversee the Division's work 
and to assist senior managers in, among other things, reporting 
accurate matter and case data at all levels of the organization, 
improving accountability, and responding to congressional inquiries 
about the work of the Division. 

In September 2000, we reported on the reasons that the Division's 
Employment Litigation, Housing and Civil Enforcement, and Voting 
sections pursued a selection of cases and closed a selection of 
matters.[Footnote 4] We stated that legal merit (i.e., the strength of 
evidence in a case) was the predominant reason in the Sections' 
decisions to pursue allegations of discrimination as cases. We also 
reported that the reasons generally given for closing a matter were, 
among others, insufficient evidence to support allegations and 
corrective action was taken by the jurisdiction investigated. In 
addition, in February and September 2000, we reported on how the 
Division tracked and managed matters and cases using its Case 
Management System and described the new system--ICM--that the Division 
was implementing at the time of our review.[Footnote 5] In March 2006, 
DOJ began the Litigation Case Management System (LCMS) project, 
intended to replace litigating components' individual case management 
systems, including ICM, with a single, integrated case management 
system for DOJ. However, as of September 2009, DOJ was uncertain if 
LCMS would be implemented in six of the seven litigating components, 
including the Division, raising questions as to whether the Division 
will need to continue to rely on ICM.[Footnote 6] 

My comments are based on our October and September 2009 reports on the 
enforcement efforts of the four sections within the Division[Footnote 
7] and the case management system the Division uses to track and manage 
these efforts.[Footnote 8] My testimony will discuss the following key 
issues in our reports: (1) the activities that the Division undertook 
from fiscal years 2001 through 2007 to implement its enforcement 
responsibilities through each of the four sections and (2) additional 
data that could be collected using ICM to assist in reporting on the 
sections' enforcement efforts. Our September 2009 report also includes 
a discussion on the extent to which the Division has conducted and 
documented assessments of ICM's performance since its implementation. 
[Footnote 9] 

For our reports, we analyzed DOJ documents, such as annual reports, 
hearing statements, speeches, and budget documents, that described the 
Division's enforcement efforts (including special initiatives and areas 
of focus) from fiscal years 2001 through 2007. We also analyzed data 
from ICM on the matters initiated and cases pursued by each section for 
the 7-year period. We assessed the accuracy, completeness, and 
reliability of ICM data by analyzing data on matters initiated and 
closed and cases pursued by the four sections from fiscal years 2001 
through 2007. To supplement our analysis and further assess the 
reliability of the data, we compared ICM data with information 
contained in documentation, such as correspondence included in files, 
for a nongeneralizable sample of closed matters from ICM data for each 
of the four sections.[Footnote 10] Because our samples were not 
representative, we were unable to generalize the results to all closed 
matters the sections investigated during the period of our review. 
Nevertheless, our file reviews provided examples of how the ICM matter 
data compared to the same information in the matter files, how the 
sections investigated matters, and why the sections closed them. We 
interviewed senior officials in DOJ's Justice Management Division, 
which is the management arm of DOJ; the Acting Assistant Attorney 
General for the Division; and Division information technology 
officials, who are the Division officials responsible for managing and 
maintaining ICM. We also interviewed section chiefs, deputy chiefs, and 
other section staff to obtain information on the four sections' 
enforcement efforts during the 7-year period and how they used ICM to 
manage and report on these efforts. We conducted this work in 
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. More 
detail about our scope and methodology is included in our September 
2009 and October 2009 reports.[Footnote 11] 

Information on Employment Litigation, Housing and Civil Enforcement, 
Voting, and Special Litigation Sections' Enforcement Efforts from 
Fiscal Years 2001 through 2007: 

Employment Litigation Section: 

From fiscal years 2001 through 2007, the Employment Litigation Section 
initiated more than 3,200 matters and filed 60 cases as plaintiff under 
federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination.[Footnote 12] 
About 90 percent of the matters initiated (2,846 of 3,212) and more 
than half of the cases filed (33 of 60) alleged violations of section 
706 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which involves individual 
claims of employment discrimination.[Footnote 13] Much of the Section's 
matters are driven by what the Section receives from other agencies. 
During the 7-year period, about 96 percent of the matters (3,087 of 
3,212) initiated were as a result of referrals from the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor. The 
number of matters initiated under section 706 and the Uniformed 
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) declined in 
the latter fiscal years, which a Section Chief attributed to a decline 
in referrals from these two agencies.[Footnote 14] In addition to 
addressing discrimination against individuals, the Section also 
initiated more than 100 pattern or practice matters at its own 
discretion.[Footnote 15] Because the Section did not require staff to 
maintain information in ICM on the subjects (e.g., harassment and 
retaliation) of the matters or the protected class (e.g., race and 
religion) of the individuals who were allegedly discriminated against, 
we could not determine this information for more than 80 percent of the 
matters the Section closed from fiscal years 2001 through 2007. 
According to Section officials, staff are not required to do so because 
the Section does not view this information as necessary for management 
purposes. The Section also does not systematically collect information 
in ICM on the reasons matters were closed; therefore, we were not able 
to readily determine this information for the approximately 3,300 
matters the Section closed over the time period of our review. Division 
officials stated that when planning for ICM's implementation with 
Section officials, the Division did not consider requiring sections to 
provide protected class and subject data or the need to capture in ICM 
the reasons that matters are closed.[Footnote 16] However, by 
conducting interviews with agency officials and reviewing files for a 
nongeneralizable sample of 49 closed matters, we were able to determine 
that the reasons the Section closed these matters included, among 
others, the facts in the file would not justify prosecution, the issue 
was pursued through private litigation, and the employer provided or 
offered appropriate relief on its own. 

In addition to the matters initiated, the Employment Litigation Section 
filed 60 cases in court as plaintiff from fiscal years 2001 through 
2007, and filed more than half (33 of 60) under section 706 of Title 
VII. According to a Section Chief and Deputy Section Chief, the primary 
reason for pursuing a case was that the case had legal merit. Other 
priorities, such as those of the Assistant Attorney General, may also 
influence the Section's decision to pursue particular kinds of cases. 
For example, according to Section officials, following the terrorist 
attacks of September 11, 2001, the Assistant Attorney General asked the 
various sections within the Division to make the development of cases 
involving religious discrimination a priority. During the 7-year 
period, the majority of the section 706 cases (18 of 33) involved sex 
discrimination against women, and one-third (11 of 33) involved claims 
of race discrimination, with six cases filed on behalf of African 
Americans and five cases filed on behalf of whites.[Footnote 17] In 
addition to these 33 cases, the Section filed 11 pattern or practice 
cases. Most of the 11 pattern or practice cases involved claims of 
discrimination in hiring (9 of 11) and the most common protected class 
was race (7 of 11), with four cases filed on behalf of African 
Americans, two on behalf of whites,[Footnote 18] and one on behalf of 
American Indians or Alaska Natives.[Footnote 19] In July 2009, Section 
officials told us that given that the Assistant Attorneys General who 
authorized suits from fiscal years 2001 through 2007 and the Section 
Chief who made suit recommendations to the Assistant Attorneys General 
during that period are no longer employed by DOJ, it would be 
inappropriate for them to speculate as to why the Section focused its 
efforts in particular areas. 

Housing and Civil Enforcement Section: 

From fiscal years 2001 through 2007, the Housing and Civil Enforcement 
Section initiated 947 matters and participated in 277 cases under 
federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in housing, credit 
transactions, and certain places of public accommodation (e.g., 
hotels). The Section has the discretion to investigate matters and 
bring cases under all of the statutes it enforces, with the exception 
of certain cases referred under the Fair Housing Act (FHA)[Footnote 20] 
from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which the 
Section is statutorily required to file.[Footnote 21] The Section, 
however, has discretion about whether to add a pattern or practice 
allegation to these HUD-referred election cases, if supported by the 
evidence. Furthermore, the Section has the authority and discretion to 
independently file pattern or practice cases and to pursue referrals 
from other sources. During the 7-year period, the Section initiated 
more matters (517 of 947) and participated in more cases (257 of 277) 
involving discrimination under the FHA than any other statute or type 
of matter or case. The Section initiated nearly 90 percent of the FHA 
matters (456 of 517) under its pattern or practice authority; these 
primarily alleged discrimination on the basis of race or disability and 
involved land use/zoning/local government or rental issues. According 
to Section officials, the large number of land use/zoning/local 
government matters it initiated was due to the Section regularly 
receiving referrals from HUD and complaints from other entities on 
these issues. Additionally, Division officials identified that a 
Section priority during the 7-year period was to ensure that zoning and 
other regulations concerning land use were not used to hinder the 
residential choices of individuals with disabilities. During this time, 
the Section experienced a general decline in HUD election matters, with 
the Section initiating the fewest number of total matters, 106, in 
fiscal year 2007. Section officials attributed the decrease, in part, 
to a decline in HUD referrals because state and local fair housing 
agencies were handling more complaints of housing discrimination 
instead of HUD. The Section initiated the second largest number of 
matters (252 of 947) under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). 
[Footnote 22] About 70 percent (177 of 252) of these ECOA matters 
included allegations of discrimination based on age, marital status, or 
both. 

The majority (250 of 269) of the cases that the Section filed as 
plaintiff included a claim under the FHA. Similar to the Employment 
Litigation Section, the Housing Section considers legal merit and 
whether the plaintiff has the resources to proceed on his or her own 
should the Section choose not to get involved, among other reasons, 
when deciding whether to pursue a matter as a case. The number of cases 
filed by the Section each year generally decreased from fiscal years 
2001 through 2007--from 53 to 35--which, similar to matters, Section 
officials generally attributed to fewer HUD referrals.[Footnote 23] The 
FHA cases primarily involved rental issues (146). According to Section 
officials, the number of rental-related issues is reflective of larger 
national trends in that discrimination in rental housing may be more 
frequently reported or easier to detect than in home sales. Most of the 
FHA cases alleged discrimination on the basis of disability (115) or 
race (70)--66 of which involved racial discrimination against African 
Americans. The Section filed 9 cases under ECOA, of which 5 were in 
combination with the FHA. All 9 complaints involved lending issues. 
Seven of the 9 complaints included at least one allegation of racial 
discrimination and 4 included at least one allegation of discrimination 
on the basis of national origin/ethnicity.[Footnote 24] 

Voting Section: 

From fiscal years 2001 through 2007, the Voting Section initiated 442 
matters and filed 56 cases to enforce federal statutes that protect the 
voting rights of racial and language minorities,[Footnote 25] disabled 
and illiterate persons, and overseas and military personnel, among 
others. The Voting Section has the discretion to initiate a matter or 
pursue a case under its statutes, with the exception of the review of 
changes in voting practices or procedures, which it is statutorily 
required to conduct under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act 
(VRA).[Footnote 26] According to Section officials, the Section had as 
its priority the enforcement of all the statutes for which it was 
responsible throughout the period covered by our review.[Footnote 27] 
However, Section and Division officials identified shifts in the 
Section's priorities beginning in 2002. For example, the Assistant 
Attorney General in place from November 2005 through August 2007 stated 
that since 2002, the Section had increased its enforcement of the 
minority language provisions of the VRA and instituted the most 
vigorous outreach efforts to jurisdictions covered by the minority 
language provisions of the act. During the 7-year period, the Section 
initiated nearly 70 percent of VRA matters (246 of 367) on behalf of 
language minority groups, primarily Spanish speakers (203 of 246). The 
Section also initiated 162 matters under section 2 of the VRA.[Footnote 
28] The Section initiated about half of these matters on behalf of 
language minority groups (80), primarily Spanish speakers (71), and 
about half on behalf of racial minorities (88 of 162), primarily 
African American voters (71 of 88).[Footnote 29] 

During the 7-year period, the Voting Section filed 56 cases, primarily 
under the VRA (39).[Footnote 30] The majority of the cases the Section 
filed in court under the VRA were on behalf of language minority groups 
(30 of 39), primarily Spanish speakers (27). The Acting Assistant 
Attorney General reported in September 2008 that the Division had 
brought more cases under the VRA's minority language provisions during 
the past 7 years--a stated priority--than in all other years combined 
since 1975. While cases involving language minority groups were filed 
under various VRA provisions, the largest number of cases (24 of 30) 
involved claims under section 203[Footnote 31] alleging that the 
covered jurisdiction had failed to provide voting-related materials or 
information relating to the electoral process in the language of the 
applicable minority group. The Section filed 13 cases involving a claim 
under section 2 of the VRA--5 on behalf of language minority groups and 
10 on behalf of racial minority groups (6 on behalf of Hispanics, 3 on 
behalf of African Americans, and 1 on behalf of whites).[Footnote 32] 
In October 2007, the Section Chief who served from 2005 through late 
2007 told us that while at-large election systems that discriminated 
against African Americans remained a priority of the Section, not many 
of these systems continued to discriminate, and new tensions over 
immigration had emerged; therefore, the Section had been pursuing cases 
of voting discrimination against citizens of other minority 
groups.[Footnote 33] However, in September 2009, Voting Section 
officials stated that while many at-large election systems that diluted 
minority voting strength have been successfully challenged, the Section 
continued to identify such systems that discriminate against African 
American, Hispanic, and Native American residents in jurisdictions 
throughout the country and that taking action against at-large election 
systems remained a high priority for the Section. The Section also 
carried out its responsibilities under section 5 of VRA, which requires 
certain jurisdictions covered under the act to "preclear" changes to 
voting practices and procedures with DOJ or the United States District 
Court for the District of Columbia to determine that the change has 
neither the purpose nor the effect of discriminating against protected 
minorities in exercising their voting rights. The Section reported that 
over the 7-year period it made 42 objections to proposed changes, 
[Footnote 34] of which almost 70 percent (29 of 42) involved changes to 
redistricting plans. More than half (17) of the 29 objections were made 
in fiscal year 2002, following the 2000 census, and two were made from 
fiscal years 2005 through 2007.[Footnote 35] 

Special Litigation Section: 

From fiscal years 2001 through 2007, the Special Litigation Section 
initiated 693 matters and filed 31 cases as plaintiff to enforce 
federal civil rights statutes in four areas--institutional conditions 
(e.g., protecting persons in nursing homes), conduct of law enforcement 
agencies (e.g., police misconduct), access to reproductive health 
facilities and places of worship, and the exercise of religious freedom 
of institutionalized persons.[Footnote 36] Because the Section had 
discretion to pursue an investigation or case under all of the statutes 
it enforced, it considered all of its work to be self-initiated. Of the 
matters initiated and closed (544 of 693), most involved institutional 
conditions (373) and conduct of law enforcement agencies (129). 

Of the 31 cases that the Section filed as plaintiff, 27 alleged a 
pattern or practice of egregious and flagrant conditions that deprived 
persons institutionalized in health and social welfare (13), juvenile 
corrections (7), and adult corrections (7) facilities of their 
constitutional or federal statutory rights, and 3 cases involved the 
conduct of law enforcement agencies. According to Section officials, in 
deciding whether or not to pursue a case, they considered the 
conditions in a particular facility or misconduct of a particular 
police department and whether the system (e.g., state correctional or 
juvenile justice system) or department alleged to have violated the 
statute had taken corrective action or instead had accepted the 
behavior in question as its way of doing business. However, they said 
that even if the system or department were taking corrective action, 
the Section might pursue a case depending on the severity of the 
situation (e.g., sexual abuse) or if Section officials believed that 
the facility or local entity were incapable of addressing the problem. 
Additionally, according to Section officials, the Section sought to 
ensure its work reflected geographic diversity. Our analysis of the 31 
plaintiff cases showed that the Section had filed cases in 21 states 
and the District of Columbia. During the 7-year period, the Section did 
not file any cases involving violations of the exercise of religious 
freedom of institutionalized persons under the Religious Land Use and 
Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).[Footnote 37] Section officials 
stated that there was a time when the Section's enforcement of RLUIPA 
was directed to be a lower priority than its enforcement of other 
statutes.[Footnote 38] However, in April 2009, these officials told us 
that the Section was reviewing a number of preliminary inquires under 
RLUIPA, but had not yet filed any complaints because it was still 
investigating these matters. 

By Requiring Sections to Collect Data on Protected Class, Subject, and 
Reasons for Closing Matters in Its Case Management System, the Division 
Could Provide Better Accountability to Congress on Its Enforcement 
Efforts: 

As previously discussed, information regarding the specific protected 
classes and subjects related to matters and cases and the reasons for 
closing matters were not systematically maintained in ICM because the 
Division did not require Sections to capture these data.[Footnote 39] 
As a result, the availability and accuracy of protected class and 
subject data--information that is key to ensuring that the Division 
executes its charge to enforce statutes prohibiting discrimination on 
the basis of protected class--varied among the sections. Additionally, 
neither we nor the Sections could systematically identify the Sections' 
reasons for closing matters, including the number of instances in which 
the Section recommended to proceed with a case and Division management 
did not approve the Section's recommendation. 

By collecting additional data on protected class and subject in ICM, 
the Division could strengthen its ability to account for the four 
sections' enforcement efforts. In October 2006, the Principal Deputy 
Assistant Attorney General issued a memorandum to section chiefs 
stating that Division leadership relies heavily on ICM data to, among 
other things, report to Congress and the public about its enforcement 
efforts, and should be able to independently extract the data from ICM 
needed for this purpose. However, over the years, congressional 
committees have consistently requested information for oversight 
purposes related to data that the Division does not require Sections to 
collect in ICM, including information on the specific protected classes 
and subjects related to matters and cases. While ICM includes fields 
for collecting these data, the Division has not required sections to 
capture these data. Some section officials said that they did not 
believe it was necessary to maintain this information in ICM for 
internal management purposes. As a result, we found that the 
availability and accuracy of these data varied among the sections. For 
example, when comparing data obtained from the 60 complaints the 
Employment Litigation Section filed in court with data maintained in 
ICM, we identified that the protected class and subject data in ICM 
were incomplete or inaccurate for 12 and 29 cases, or about 20 and 48 
percent, respectively. Additionally, we found that the Section's 
protected class and subject data were not captured in ICM for 2,808 and 
2,855 matters, or about 83 and 85 percent, respectively. In contrast, 
according to the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, it requires 
that protected class and subject data be recorded in ICM for all 
matters and cases, and we found that these data were consistently 
recorded in ICM. 

To help respond to information inquiries, all four sections maintain 
data in ancillary data systems, although some of the data are also 
recorded in ICM. For example, the Employment Litigation Section 
maintains broad information on protected class and uses this 
information in conjunction with data in ICM to report on its 
enforcement efforts. Section officials reported using ancillary data 
systems in part because it was easier to generate customized reports 
than using ICM. We previously reported that agencies with separate, 
disconnected data systems may be unable to aggregate data consistently 
across systems, and are more likely to devote time and resources to 
collecting and reporting information than those with integrated 
systems.[Footnote 40] Requiring sections to record these data in ICM 
would assist the Division in, among other things, responding to 
inquiries from Congress by ensuring access to readily available 
information and by reducing reliance on ancillary data systems. 

Additionally, congressional committees have requested information 
regarding reasons the Division did not pursue matters, including 
instances in which Division managers did not approve a section's 
recommendation to proceed with a case. However, ICM does not include a 
discrete field for capturing the reasons that matters are closed and 
Division officials we interviewed could not identify instances in which 
Division managers did not approve a section's recommendation to proceed 
with a case. Moreover, sections do not maintain this information in 
other section-level information systems. ICM does have a comment field 
that sections can use to identify the reasons matters are closed, 
although these data are not required or systematically maintained in 
ICM and the Division could not easily aggregate these data using the 
comment field.[Footnote 41] According to Division officials, when 
Division and section officials were determining which data were to be 
captured in ICM, they did not consider the need to include a discrete 
field to capture the reasons that matters were closed. As a result, we 
had to review Division matter files to determine the reasons that 
matters were closed, and in some instances this information was not 
contained in the files. For example, for 7 of the 19 section 706 closed 
matter files we reviewed for the Employment Litigation Section, the 
reason the matter was closed was not contained in the file 
documentation we received, and Section officials attributed this to a 
filing error. Moreover, Division officials stated that because the 
Division did not track the reasons for closing matters in ICM, they 
have had to review files and talk with section attorneys and managers 
to obtain this information. They said that it was difficult to compile 
this information because of turnover among key section officials. 
Capturing information on the reasons matters were closed in the 
Division's case management system would facilitate the reporting of 
this information to Congress and enable the Division to conduct a 
systematic analysis of the reasons that matters were closed. This would 
also help the Division to determine whether there were issues that may 
need to be addressed through actions, such as additional guidance from 
the Division on factors it considers in deciding whether to approve a 
section's recommendation to pursue a case. 

In our September 2009 report, we recommended that to strengthen the 
Division's ability to manage and report on the four sections' 
enforcement efforts, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the 
Division, among other things, (1) require sections to record data on 
protected class and subject in the Division's case management system in 
order to facilitate reporting of this information to Congress, and (2) 
as the Division considers options to address its case management system 
needs, determine how sections should be required to record data on the 
reasons for closing matters in the system in order to be able to 
systematically assess and take actions to address issues identified. 
DOJ concurred with our recommendations and, according to Division 
officials, the Division plans to (1) require sections divisionwide to 
record data on protected class and subject/issue in its case management 
system by the end of calendar year 2009 and (2) upgrade the system to 
include a field on reasons for closing matters and require sections 
divisionwide to record data in this field. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to 
respond to any questions that you or other members of the subcommittee 
may have. 

Contacts and Acknowledgements: 

For questions about this statement, please contact Eileen R. Larence at 
(202) 512-8777 or larencee@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of 
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last 
page of this statement. Individuals making key contributions to this 
testimony are Maria Strudwick, Assistant Director, David Alexander; R. 
Rochelle Burns; Lara Kaskie; Barbara Stolz; and Janet Temko. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] The Special Litigation Section is responsible for the enforcement 
of federal civil rights statutes in four primary areas: conditions of 
institutional confinement, conduct of law enforcement agencies, access 
to reproductive health facilities and places of religious worship, and 
the exercise of religious freedom of institutionalized persons. 

[2] The Division has 11 sections--10 program-related sections and an 
Administrative Management section. 

[3] Pub. L. No. 85-315, 71 Stat. 634. 

[4] GAO, Civil Rights Division: Selection of Cases and Reasons Matters 
Were Closed, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-00-192] 
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 2000). 

[5] GAO, Civil Rights Division: Policies and Procedures for 
Establishing Litigation Priorities, Tracking and Managing Casework, and 
Disseminating Litigation Results, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GGD-00-58R] (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 2000) 
and [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-00-192]. 

[6] DOJ's seven litigating components in place at the time LCMS was 
planned were the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Criminal, Environment 
and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions and the Executive Office for 
United States Attorneys, which is the administrative office for the 94 
U.S. Attorneys Offices. 

[7] GAO, U.S. Department of Justice: Information on Employment 
Litigation, Housing and Civil Enforcement, Voting, and Special 
Litigation Sections' Enforcement Efforts from Fiscal Years 2001 through 
2007, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-75] (Washington, 
D.C.: Oct. 23, 2009). 

[8] GAO, DOJ's Civil Rights Division: Opportunities Exist to Improve 
Its Case Management System and Better Meet Its Reporting Needs, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-938R] (Washington, D.C.: 
Sept. 30, 2009). 

[9] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-938R]. We 
recommended that the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Division 
conduct annual assessments of the performance of the Division's case 
management system and ensure that these assessments are documented and 
maintained so they can be used to improve the performance of the 
system. DOJ agreed. 

[10] A nongeneralizable sample may be either a nonprobability sample 
where observations are selected in a manner that is not completely 
random or a probability sample where random sampling is used, but the 
sample size is too small to allow the results to be generalized to the 
broader population. 

[11] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-75] and [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-938R. 

[12] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-75] includes 
information on the process the Sections follow for handling matters and 
cases. 

[13] Section 706 provides the Attorney General with the authority to 
file suit based upon an individual charge of discrimination against a 
state or local government employer that the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission has referred to DOJ. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5. 

[14] USERRA prohibits discrimination in employment and related 
practices based on military service as well as protects individuals who 
have not been timely and properly reemployed following their return 
from military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301-35. The Attorney General 
transferred responsibility for USERRA enforcement to the Civil Rights 
Division in September 2004. 

[15] Section 707 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 
2000e-6, provides the Attorney General with authority to bring lawsuits 
against state and local governments where there is reason to believe 
that there has been a pattern or practice of employment discrimination. 
Pattern or practice cases attempt to show that the defendant 
systematically engaged in discriminatory activities. 

[16] Similar to the Employment Litigation Section, because the other 
three sections did not systemically collect information in ICM on the 
reasons for closing matters, we could not systematically identify their 
reasons for closing matters. 

[17] Individual cases can involve multiple protected classes and 
subjects. 

[18] In July 2005, the Section filed its first case involving an 
allegation of a pattern or practice of discrimination against white 
males. 

[19] The Section also filed 16 cases under USERRA from fiscal year 2005 
through 2007. 

[20] The FHA allows individuals who believe they have been injured by a 
discriminatory housing practice to file complaints with the Department 
of Housing and Urban Development and DOJ to bring suit where there is 
reason to believe that a person or entity has engaged in a pattern or 
practice of discrimination. 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq. 

[21] DOJ is required to file HUD-referred election cases in federal 
district court. These nondiscretionary referrals are called "election 
cases" because either the complaining party or the respondent has 
elected to have the case heard in federal court rather than through a 
HUD administrative hearing. 

[22] 15 U.S.C. § 1691 et seq. The 252 matters include those initiated 
either solely under ECOA or in combination with other statutes. During 
the 7-year period, the Section also had responsibility for enforcing 
provisions of Title II of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000a to a-
6. Additionally, in the spring of 2001, the Section received 
responsibility for enforcing the land use provisions of the Religious 
Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq.; 
and, in July 2006, received responsibility for enforcing the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. App. §§ 501-96. The Section 
is also responsible for enforcing several statutes that prohibit 
discrimination in, among other things, programs where the operator of 
the program receives federal funds. 

[23] Among HUD-referred cases are election cases, which the Section is 
statutorily required to file. 

[24] Four of the 9 complaints included allegations of discrimination 
both on the basis of race and national origin. 

[25] The term "language minorities" or "language minority group" means 
persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives, or of 
Spanish heritage. 42 U.S.C § 1973aa-1a(e). 

[26] Under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, state and local 
jurisdictions in certain parts of the country may not change their 
voting practices or procedures, which include moving a polling place or 
changing district lines in the county, until they obtain federal 
"preclearance" that the change has neither the purpose nor the effect 
of discriminating against protected minorities in exercising their 
voting rights. Preclearance may be obtained either from the United 
States District Court for the District of Columbia or the Attorney 
General. 42 U.S.C. § 1973c. 

[27] In addition to the VRA, the Section enforced the National Voter 
Registration Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973gg-1973gg-10; the Uniformed and 
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973ff-1973ff-6; 
and beginning in fiscal year 2002, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 
42 U.S.C. §§ 15301-54. GAO-10-75 includes a discussion of the Section's 
enforcements efforts related to these acts. 

[28] Section 2 prohibits discriminatory practices or procedures that 
result in a denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of 
race, color, or membership in a language minority group. 42 U.S.C. § 
1973. 

[29] Seven matters involved both a language minority and a racial 
minority group and in one matter the specific protected class was not 
identified. 

[30] The Section also filed 10 cases involving the provisions of Help 
America Vote Act, subsequent to its enactment in 2002; 10 cases 
involving allegations under provisions of the National Voter 
Registration Act; and seven cases involving allegations under the 
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act on behalf of 
overseas voters. 

[31] 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-1a. 

[32] Two cases involved both racial and language minority groups. 

[33] An at-large election system is one in which a public official is 
selected from the whole of a political unit or election district rather 
than from a subdivision of the larger unit. 

[34] Some objections addressed more than one proposed change. 

[35] The Section reported that it made one objection in fiscal year 
2001, five in fiscal year 2003, and four in fiscal year 2004. Section 
officials explained that the number of redistricting plans submitted 
for review had increased early in the decade (2001 through 2003), 
following the release of the 2000 Census, as has occurred after each 
census. 

[36] According to Special Litigation Section officials, the Section did 
not experience significant changes in its statutory responsibilities 
during the 7-year period. 

[37] 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq. 

[38] These provisions differ from the land use provisions enforced by 
the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section. 

[39] Because of the nature of the statutes enforced by the section, the 
data for protected class are not relevant for most of the work done by 
the Special Litigation Section. Given the statutory responsibilities of 
the section, it requires staff to capture data in ICM on the type of 
facility involved in a matter or case and, where appropriate, protected 
class information. 

[40] GAO, Telecommunications: FCC Has Made Some Progress in the 
Management of Its Enforcement Program but Faces Limitations, and 
Additional Actions Are Needed, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-125] (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 15, 
2008). 

[41] In contrast, another component within DOJ, the Executive Office 
for United States Attorneys (EOUSA), requires the litigating sections 
it supervises to capture information on the reasons for declining 
matters in its case management system, the Legal Information Office 
Network System. According to EOUSA, it uses the information internally 
to understand why matters are declined and make management decisions. 
For example, according to EOUSA officials, if matters are declined 
because of weak evidence, U.S. Attorney's offices could work with law 
enforcement to make improvements in practices used to collect evidence. 

[End of section] 

GAO's Mission: 

The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation and 
investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting 
its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance 
and accountability of the federal government for the American people. 
GAO examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and 
policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance 
to help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding 
decisions. GAO's commitment to good government is reflected in its core 
values of accountability, integrity, and reliability. 

Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony: 

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no 
cost is through GAO's Web site [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. Each 
weekday, GAO posts newly released reports, testimony, and 
correspondence on its Web site. To have GAO e-mail you a list of newly 
posted products every afternoon, go to [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov] 
and select "E-mail Updates." 

Order by Phone: 

The price of each GAO publication reflects GAO’s actual cost of
production and distribution and depends on the number of pages in the
publication and whether the publication is printed in color or black and
white. Pricing and ordering information is posted on GAO’s Web site, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/ordering.htm]. 

Place orders by calling (202) 512-6000, toll free (866) 801-7077, or
TDD (202) 512-2537. 

Orders may be paid for using American Express, Discover Card,
MasterCard, Visa, check, or money order. Call for additional 
information. 

To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs: 

Contact: 

Web site: [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm]: 
E-mail: fraudnet@gao.gov: 
Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470: 

Congressional Relations: 

Ralph Dawn, Managing Director, dawnr@gao.gov: 
(202) 512-4400: 
U.S. Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street NW, Room 7125: 
Washington, D.C. 20548: 

Public Affairs: 

Chuck Young, Managing Director, youngc1@gao.gov: 
(202) 512-4800: 
U.S. Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street NW, Room 7149: 
Washington, D.C. 20548: