US Ministry of Justice The Justice Department sent a memorandum to the Civil Rights Division ordering a freeze on all ongoing litigation arising from the Biden administration and a halt to pursuing any new cases or settlements, according to reports.
the The Washington Post It first reported that a memo sent to Kathleen Wolf, the interim head of the department appointed by the Trump administration, asked her to ensure that attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, remand agreements, amicus briefs, or statements.” “Useful.”
As for how long the freeze will continue, the memorandum does not mention, although it practically stops the division until the president arrives Donald Trump Harmeet Dhillon's nomination to head the ministry was confirmed by the Senate.
The post also reported that the freeze was “consistent with the department's goal of ensuring that the federal government speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to ensure that appointees or appointees of the president have the opportunity to decide whether to bring any new cases.”
Department of Justice in Washington, DC (Ting Xin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A source familiar with the memo confirmed its contents to Fox News.
The Ministry of Justice had no comment on the matter.
Wolf was also told in another memo that the department must inform the Justice Department chief of staff of any consent decrees completed by the department within the past 90 days.
President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Earlier this month, a Kentucky judge refused to immediately sign a police reform consent decree drafted by the Justice Department and the city of Louisville during a hearing that one courtroom participant described as a hasty attempt by the Biden administration to obstruct incoming President Trump.
But federal Judge Benjamin Peyton refused to “rubber stamp” a 240-page reform plan that came after the 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor, according to Project Oversight consultant Kyle Brosnan.
Taylor was killed in a hail of police gunfire after Louisville officers sought to serve a drug search warrant on her Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker house. Walker fired a “warning shot” through the door, hitting Officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg.
A photo of Breonna Taylor shared at the 2022 Black Women's Defense March at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. (Lee Vogel/Getty Images for Frontline Action Hub)
Brosnan noted that a consent decree differs from other legal agreements because it cannot be voided simply by presidential order or by a change of mind of one of the parties involved.
The consent decree alleged a pattern or practice of racial bias in Louisville police, including in traffic stops, sexual assault investigations or use of force.
There are at least two other police reform consent decrees undergoing legal action, one in Maryland and one in Minnesota.
On January 6, the Justice Department reached an agreement with Minneapolis, which still requires court approval, To reform the department's “unconstitutional and unlawful practices” that allegedly conflict with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fourteenth Amendment.
In October 2024, the feds sued the Maryland State Police Department for allegedly violating the Civil Rights Act.
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“The United States alleges that MDSP violated Title VII when it used a certain physical fitness test and a certain written test to hire entry-level soldiers because the tests excluded more female and African-American applicants than others and were not job-related,” the court document states.
Maryland police reject these charges.
Fox News Digital's Charles Kretz contributed to this report.
