FILE - In this May 26, 2015 file photo, Vanita Gupta speaks in Cleveland. Gupta, the Obama administration’s top civil rights lawyer will lead a coalition of civil and human rights organizations at a time when they fear the Justice Department will soften its stance on criminal justice reform. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
March 23, 2017 - 12:50 PM
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration's top civil rights lawyer will lead a coalition of civil and human rights organizations at a time when they fear the Justice Department will soften its stance on criminal justice reform.
Vanita Gupta led the Obama Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. She said on Thursday she will become the new president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. She says she joins the organization amid an "unprecedented assault on civil rights," as Attorney General Jeff Sessions has indicated the department will soften its focus on protecting voter rights and monitoring troubled police departments.
Gupta is a former attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. She'll start her new position June 1.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017