Skip to main content

Civil Rights

 

Overview

Through its Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi vigorously enforces federal civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender preference, and religion, among other protected categories. The Civil Division also protects the constitutional rights of residents in many other areas, including the rights of individuals with disabilities, housing, employment (in state and local governments), education, and voting. Additionally, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office is responsible for investigating and prosecuting criminal civil rights violations, such as hate crimes and allegations that law enforcement officers have used excessive force. For more information about this work, please see our brochure on our Civil Rights work.

Civil Rights Complaints

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi welcomes information from the public regarding possible violations of our nation’s civil rights laws. Civil rights complaints can be submitted by email, mail, or phone. You do not need a special form to submit a complaint, but if you would like to use a form, here is a sample form.

You can send your complaint by email to: USAMSS.CivilRights@usdoj.gov

You can send your complaint by mail to:

               U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Mississippi
                 Attn: Civil Division Civil Rights Section 
                 501 East Court Street, Suite 4.430, Jackson, MS 39201

You can make your complaint by telephone by calling 601-973-2825.

Members of the public can also report a potential criminal civil rights violation by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or on-line at https://tips.fbi.gov/.

Civil Division’s Civil Rights Work

The Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office has a Civil Rights Section that is responsible for enforcement of more than 20 statutes prohibiting discrimination, such as the following:

  • Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq.
    The Department of Justice enforces the rights of individuals with disabilities: in employment (Title I), to access state and local governmental services (Title II) and public accommodations, such as restaurants, gyms and sports arenas (Title III).
     
  • Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.
    The Department of Justice investigates and sues landlords, realtors and others who discriminate against individuals and families based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin.
     
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Act (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), 42 U.S.C. § 2000 et seq.
    Under Title VII, the Justice Department is responsible for litigating cases against state and local government employers that discriminate against employees based upon race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
     
  • Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997 et seq.
    CRIPA authorizes the Department of Justice to investigate and commence civil actions against state and local governments that engage in patterns or practices of depriving persons of their constitutional and statutory rights in institutional settings such as jails, prisons and psychiatric hospitals.
     
  • Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Law Enforcement Misconduct Statute), 34 U.S.C. § 12601 (formerly 42 U.S.C. § 14141)
    The Department of Justice is authorized by this statute to investigate and bring civil actions against law enforcement agencies that engage in a pattern or practice of depriving persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
     
  • Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. §§ 10301 et seq.
    The Department of Justice is charged with protecting the right of all citizens to vote, including the right to register to vote and cast meaningful votes, as protected and guaranteed by the Constitution.    
     
  • National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973gg et seq.
    The Department of Justice has authority to bring civil actions in federal court to enforce the NVRA, also known as the “motor voter law,” “to enhance voting opportunities for every American.” The Act has made it easier for all Americans to register to vote and to maintain their registration.
     
  • Unformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301 et seq.
    The Department of Justice brings lawsuits against private, state, and local government employers for violations of USERRA upon receipt of a referral from the Department of Labor (“DOL”).  USERRA entitles servicemembers to return to their civilian employment upon completion of their military service with the seniority, status, and rate of pay that they would have obtained had they remained continuously employed by their civilian employer.  USERRA also prohibits discrimination based on present, past and future military service.

Other civil rights statutes the Department of Justice enforces include:

Below are links to press releases regarding examples of the Civil Division’s civil rights work:

Criminal Division’s Civil Rights Work

The U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division is responsible for investigating and criminally prosecuting civil rights violations and federal hate crimes, among other offenses.  With respect to civil rights violations, the Criminal Division prosecutes law enforcement officers and other individuals who operate under the color of law and who willfully deprive individuals of their constitutional rights, including those protected by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments of the Constitution.  With respect to hate crimes, the Division prosecutes individuals who commit federal hate crimes on account of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.  In addition, the Division prosecutes individuals who commit violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act by injuring or otherwise interfering with those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health care services. The Division also prosecutes individuals who engage in human trafficking.

  • Federal Hate Crimes.  Two statutes, 18 U.S.C. § 245 and 18 U.S.C. § 249 (the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act), make it a federal crime to injure or threaten to injure using a firearm or other dangerous weapon individuals on account of their race, color, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability.  When the crime is on account of an individual’s gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability, the crime must also affect interstate or foreign commerce as described in the law.
  • Willful Deprivation of Constitutional Rights.  18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242 criminalize individuals who operate under the color of law, including police officers and correctional guards, who willfully deprive individuals of their constitutional rights.  A law enforcement officer can deprive an individual of their constitutional rights by using excessive force or committing a sexual assault, among numerous other means.
  • Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.  The FACE Act, 18 U.S.C. § 248, makes it a crime to injure or otherwise interfere with an individual seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health care services.
  • Rights to Fair Housing.  42 U.S.C. § 3631 makes it a federal crime to injure, intimidate or otherwise interfere with an individual because he or she rents, buys or sells an apartment or house and because of the individual’s race, color, religion, gender, disability, national origin or familial status.

          The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi has a long history of using these statutes to prosecute serious crimes.  For example, the Office prosecuted the men responsible for the 1964 Freedom Summer Murders in which three civil rights workers were brutally killed.  The Office also prosecuted a Klansman in the kidnapping and murder of Henry Dee and Charles Moore. More recently, the Office successfully prosecuted a group of teenagers on hate crimes stemming from the murder of James Craig Anderson.

Below are links to press releases regarding other examples of the Criminal Division’s criminal rights work:

More Information

In addition to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s civil rights enforcement program, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and a variety of other federal agencies provide online resources and information regarding civil rights.  For more information, you can visit the following websites:

Updated October 20, 2024