Christopher Coates
Encyclopedia
Christopher Coates is a U.S. Justice Department official and former ACLU lawyer. He stepped down as Voting Section chief in December 2009 and transferred to the U.S. Attorney's office in South Carolina
. He was involved in a prominent case
over voter intimidation that was later dropped, and was not permitted by the department to testify before U.S. Civil Rights Commission Hearing investigating issues related to the case (as of June 23, 2010).
In January 2010 Coates said, "America is increasingly a multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural society. For such a diverse group of people to be able to live and function together in a democratic society, there have to be certain common standards that we are bound by and that protect us all. ... For the Department of Justice to enforce the Voting Rights Act only to protect members of certain minority groups breaches the fundamental guarantee of equal protection. ..."
J. Christian Adams
has said that Coates, who he worked with on a voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party, was transferred after a confrontation with acting head of the Civil Rights Division Steve Rosenbaum. Adams claims that officials in Barack Obama's administration oppose race-neutral enforcement of the law. In December 2009 the United States Civil Rights Commission issued a subpoena for Coates' testimony on the matter; however, the Department of Justice ordered him not to comply.
On 24 September 2010, Coates defied the DOJ and testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, citing the Whistleblower Protection Act
. Coates largely supported Adams' earlier testimony, describing "the atmosphere that existed and continues to exist in the CRD and in the Voting Section against the fair enforcement of certain Federal voting laws", and to statements by several VRS staff attorneys and executives showing hostility towards enforcing voting laws on a race-neutral basis. For example, "a Voting Section career attorney informed me that he was opposed to bringing voting rights cases against African American defendants, such as in the Ike Brown
case, until we reached the day when the socio-economic status of blacks in Mississippi was the same as the socio-economic status of whites living there."
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. He was involved in a prominent case
New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case
The New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case, sometimes known simply as the Black Panther Case, is a political controversy in the United States concerning an incident that occurred during the 2008 election...
over voter intimidation that was later dropped, and was not permitted by the department to testify before U.S. Civil Rights Commission Hearing investigating issues related to the case (as of June 23, 2010).
In January 2010 Coates said, "America is increasingly a multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural society. For such a diverse group of people to be able to live and function together in a democratic society, there have to be certain common standards that we are bound by and that protect us all. ... For the Department of Justice to enforce the Voting Rights Act only to protect members of certain minority groups breaches the fundamental guarantee of equal protection. ..."
J. Christian Adams
J. Christian Adams
J. Christian Adams is a former United States Department of Justice official who has accused the department of racial bias in its handling of a voter intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party.-Career:...
has said that Coates, who he worked with on a voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party, was transferred after a confrontation with acting head of the Civil Rights Division Steve Rosenbaum. Adams claims that officials in Barack Obama's administration oppose race-neutral enforcement of the law. In December 2009 the United States Civil Rights Commission issued a subpoena for Coates' testimony on the matter; however, the Department of Justice ordered him not to comply.
On 24 September 2010, Coates defied the DOJ and testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, citing the Whistleblower Protection Act
Whistleblower Protection Act
-Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989:The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 is a United States federal law that protects federal whistleblowers who work for the government and report agency misconduct...
. Coates largely supported Adams' earlier testimony, describing "the atmosphere that existed and continues to exist in the CRD and in the Voting Section against the fair enforcement of certain Federal voting laws", and to statements by several VRS staff attorneys and executives showing hostility towards enforcing voting laws on a race-neutral basis. For example, "a Voting Section career attorney informed me that he was opposed to bringing voting rights cases against African American defendants, such as in the Ike Brown
Ike Brown
Isaac Brown was an infielder/outfielder in the Negro leagues and a utilityman in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers from 1969 through 1974...
case, until we reached the day when the socio-economic status of blacks in Mississippi was the same as the socio-economic status of whites living there."