July 2016 - December 2016
 

This is a recap of some of the civil rights activities for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina during this period.

Civil Rights - Criminal Prosecutions

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice enforce several different federal criminal statutes relating to civil rights.  Generally, these statutes relate to Human Trafficking, Hate Crimes, and Color of Law matters.  During this period our office’s criminal civil rights team’s activities included:

Spartanburg Men Sentenced in Sex Trafficking Case, July 11, 2016
Please see separate press release at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/spartanburg-men-sentenced-sex-trafficking-case

Columbia Man Pleads to Sex Trafficking of Under Age Females, October 26, 2016
Please see separate press release at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/columbia-man-pleads-sex-trafficking-under-age-females

Child Sex Trafficker Convicted at Trial, December 19, 2016
Please see separate press release at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/child-sex-trafficker-convicted-trial

Civil Rights – Affirmative Civil Matters

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice enforce several different federal civil statutes relating to civil rights.   During this period, affirmative-civil rights activities included:
 
Agreement with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department to Ensure Civil Rights Protections for Students, August 10, 2016
The Office of Justice Programs’ Office for Civil Rights entered into an agreement with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department to resolve a compliance review of its School Resource Officer (SRO) program.
Please see separate press release at
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/office-justice-programs-office-civil-rights-enters-agreement-richland-county-sheriff-s

Voting Task Force for Elections, November 2016
AUSA Bowens and AUSA Potterfield were appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEO) for the District of South Carolina, and in that capacity were responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington District Election Officers (DEO).
Please see separate press release at 
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/november-2016-elections

Poll Monitoring on Election Day, November 2016
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division deployed more than 500 personnel to 67 jurisdictions in 28 states for the Nov. 8, 2016, general election.  Our office’s AUSA Rob Sneed participated in the monitoring for polls in Mecklenburg County (Charlotte area), North Carolina.
Please see press release at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/justice-department-monitor-polls-28-states-election-day

Civil Rights Team Member appointed to serve as liaison to DOJ’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative, October 2016
The DOJ and the Office work together to protect servicemembers and their families from unscrupulous financial predators, to litigate cases brought under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and to guard our men and women in uniform against wrongful foreclosures and repossessions.  AUSA Rob Sneed was designated as the office’s liaison in serving our men and women in uniform.

Technical Assistance, Formal Events, Informal Community Outreach

The United States Attorney’s Office conducts ongoing community outreach and technical assistance (subject to resource availability) across the entire spectrum of federal civil rights statutes that our office has jurisdiction to enforce.  We partner, collaborate, and/or coordinate with a variety of entities and groups, including but not limited to federal agencies, state and local entities, and NGO (non-governmental organizations).  We do not participate in partisan, political, lobbying, or religious/sectarian activities.  During this period our office:

Formal Events, Presentations, Etc.

Outreach and Support to South Carolina’s Service Members, September 9-10, 2016
Three federal laws are designed specifically to assist Servicemembers:   the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights (USERRA), which protects the employment and reemployment rights of service members; the Service Members Civil Relief  Act (SCRA), which  helps protect Servicemembers’ financial security;  and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 (UOCAVA).  In partnership with the DOJ, AUSA Rob Sneed planned, coordinated, and met with over 50 members of the South Carolina military legal community to discuss and identify current legal issues affecting service members. Events were held with several different military units at Joint Base Charleston, Fort Jackson, and the S.C. Army National Guard Armory.

Community Civil Rights Discussion, Columbia, October 4, 2016
The U.S Attorney’s Office hosted a breakfast community meeting to build stronger relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve.  Participants included Federal Civil Rights prosecutors, FBI agents responsible for Civil Rights, senior members of South Carolina Law Enforcement Agencies, plus several community members from the Columbia area, including religious leaders (from African American churches, local Muslim leaders, and local Sikh leaders) and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) who are interested in this very important topic.
Please see separate press release at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/day-community-civil-rights-discussions

Service-Member and Veterans’ Initiative - Training to U.S. Attorneys, November 30-December 1, 2016
The Office played a lead role in providing training to Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) from across the country to support our men and women in uniform. The focus of the training was on: (1) the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights (USERRA), which protects the employment and reemployment rights of service members; and (2) the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which helps protect servicemembers’ financial security

Community Civil Rights Discussion, December 12, 2016
The U.S Attorney’s Office hosted an evening town-hall meeting to build stronger relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve.  Participants included Federal Civil Rights prosecutors, FBI agents responsible for Civil Rights, senior members of South Carolina Law Enforcement Agencies, plus several community members from the Greenville area who are interested in this very important topic.

Informal Community Outreach

The office conducted informal community outreach with the following entities and organizations:

• Chief of Legal Assistance, U.S. Army Training Center, Fort Jackson, SC
• 12th Legal Operations Detachment (LOD), USAR, Fort Jackson, SC
• Staff Judge Advocate Office, 81st Regional Support Command, USAR, Fort Jackson, SC
• Staff Judge Advocate Office, South Carolina Army National Guard
• Staff Judge Advocate Office, South Carolina Air National Guard, Columbia, SC
• Legal Assistance Office/Attorneys, United Marine Corps (USMC), Beaufort, SC
• Staff Judge Advocate Office, United States Air Force (USAF), Joint Base Charleston, SC
• Legal Assistance Office/Attorneys, United States Navy (USN), Goose Creek NWS/Joint Base Charleston
• Legal Assistance Office/Attorneys, United States Coast Guard (USCG), Charleston, SC
• Staff Judge Advocate Office, United States Air Force (USAF), Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter, SC
• Command Judge Advocate, 415 Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) USAR, Greenville, SC
• Able South Carolina
• NAACP, Columbia, SC & NAACP, Greenville, SC
• Arab American Institute (AAIUSA)
• South Asian American Leading Together (SAALT)
• Greenville County Human Relations Commission, Greenville, SC
• Trident Urban League, Charleston, SC
• South Carolina Association for the Deaf (SCAD)
• South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center
• Department of Justice Community Relations Service, DOJ-CRS, Atlanta, GA
• Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A), Columbia, SC
• South Carolina Election Commission

Other

Civil Rights Coordinator’s Seminar, September 2016
AUSA Rob Sneed attended a 2 ½ day Affirmative Civil Rights seminar and training in Chicago, Illinois.  Attendees including DOJ Civil Rights staff plus U.S. Attorney Office Civil Rights Coordinators east of the Mississippi.

Office Hired Two Full-Time Civil Rights Attorneys, October 2016
The District hired two full-time attorneys to coordinate civil rights matters across the state. AUSA Rob Sneed had been serving as a civil fraud attorney, and he was assigned to coordinate affirmative civil rights and bring civil cases under applicable statutes.  Alyssa Richardson is a new criminal AUSA, and her duties include coordinating criminal civil rights investigations and prosecuting charges under criminal civil rights statutes.

Civil Rights Complaint Form and Brochure, December 2016
The District developed and promulgated a CRT Complaint form and CRT brochure.  Both are available on website at: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/civil-rights

How to contact the U.S. Attorney's Office Civil Rights Team (CRT)
Tel. (803) 929-3000; Email: USASC.CivilRights@usdoj.gov; Website: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/civil-rights