Mobile, Alabama. B The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, Kenyen R. Brown, announced today that his office has established a civil Civil Rights Enforcement Unit. The office’s website now has a Complaint Form (available in English and Spanish) providing the citizens of the Southern District of Alabama with a resource for voicing concerns about civil Civil Rights violations. The form can be accessed at http://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/als/includes/civil/cre.html.

Allegations of criminal civil rights violations are primarily investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), which works closely with the U. S. Attorney=s Office and the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice to assure that appropriate cases are prosecuted.

The U. S. Attorney=s Office and the Civil Rights Division coordinate the enforcement of federal civil rights statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, family status, and national origin. The Civil Rights Division was established in 1957 and is located at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. The mission of the Civil Rights Division is to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, including some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The U. S. Attorney=s Office enforces federal anti-discrimination statutes in coordination with the Civil Rights Division. These statutes, which are primarily enforced through civil remedies, include the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Act, and the Voting Rights Act and other laws. These statutes reflect some of the United States= highest ideals and aspirations: equal treatment and equal justice under law.

These statutes are commonly investigated by an administrative agency prior to involvement of the U. S. Department of Justice or U. S. Attorney=s Office. In some cases, however, citizens might not know where or how to file a complaint with the most appropriate agency. The Civil Division’s Civil Rights Complaint form released by Mr. Brown provides the citizens of the Southern District of Alabama with a local resource which may be used to file a civil rights complaint.

The U.S. Attorney=s website will also be updated soon to provide the public with web links to the most appropriate law enforcement or administrative agency for specific complaints. However, if a citizen does not know which agency should receive their complaint, they may mail or fax the completed form to the U. S. Attorney=s Office in Mobile.

Mr. Brown has named Assistant United States Attorney Gary Alan Moore to lead the work on civil rights cases throughout the Southern District of Alabama (which includes Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, Washington, Hale, Dallas, Wilcox, Monroe, Clarke, Choctaw, Marengo, Perry, and Conecuh Counties). If a citizen submits a completed form to the U.S. Attorney's office, AUSA Moore will determine if a potential civil rights violation has occurred, and what law enforcement or administrative agency would be best suited to handle the concern raised in the complaint.

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