Justice Department Lawyers File Race Discrimination Lawsuit

Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates the full and equal enjoyment of rights in places of public accommodation regardless of race, color, religion or national origin, and enforcement of Title II is a priority of the U. S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (DOJ).  In this regard, DOJ attorneys issued a Press Release at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-crt-033.html on January 13, 2010, announcing that the DOJ filed a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania country club, accusing the club of engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race or color.  According to the Press Release, DOJ attorneys charge in the discrimination lawsuit that the club adopted a racially discriminatory policy to bar summer camps from using its facility after a group of predominantly African-American school children visited the facility.  The DOJ’s lawsuit seeks to obtain injunctive relief under Title II to remedy such discrimination by changing policies and practices.  An Assistant Attorney General quoted in the Press Release stated, in part, that “[d]enying African-American children entry to a swimming pool because of the color of their skin is a deplorable violation of this nation’s civil rights laws.”

Additional information about the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is available on the DOJ’s website which can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt .  Further, persons with information or complaints about discriminatory practices at public facilities may call the DOJ at 1-800-896-7743, ext. 997.

Whether civil rights violations in places of public accommodation occurs in Texas or elsewhere, victims may contact the DOJ or an attorney to determine if a civil rights lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential civil rights violation claim.