# United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin.
The division was established on December 9, 1957, by order of Attorney General William P. Rogers, after the Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the head office of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights (AAG-CR; appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate). In 2021, Kristen Clarke became the first woman confirmed to the position.

## Organization

* Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
** Appellate Section
** Coordination and Review Section
** Criminal Section
** Disability Rights Section
** Educational Opportunities Section
** Employment Litigation Section
** Housing and Civil Enforcement Section
** Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
** Policy & Strategy Section
** Special Litigation Section
** Voting Section

## Jurisdiction

The Division enforces
* the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1968
* the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended through 2006
* the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974
* the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
* the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
* the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009
* the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986
* the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984
* the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980, which authorizes the Attorney General to seek relief for persons confined in public institutions where conditions exist that deprive residents of their constitutional rights
* the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994
* the Police Misconduct Provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
* the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000
* the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993
* Section 102 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin and citizenship status as well as document abuse and retaliation under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
In addition, the Division prosecutes actions under several criminal civil rights statutes which were designed to preserve personal liberties and safety.

## Assistant Attorneys General

    denotes head that served as acting Assistant Attorney General
| # | Head | Took office | Left office | Party | Administration |
| 1 | W. Wilson White | 1957 | 1960 | Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 2 | Harold R. Tyler | 1960 | 1961 | Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 3 | Burke Marshall | 1961 | 1965 | Democratic | John F. Kennedy |
| 4 | John Doar | 1965 | 1967 | Republican | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 5 | Stephen J. Pollak | 1967 | 1969 | Democratic | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 6 | Jerris Leonard | 1969 | 1971 | Republican | Richard Nixon |
| 7 | David Luke Norman | 1971 | 1973 | Republican | Richard Nixon |
| 8 | J. Stanley Pottinger | 1973 | 1977 | Republican | Richard Nixon |
| 9 | Drew S. Days | 1977 | 1980 | Democratic | Jimmy Carter |
| 10 | William Bradford Reynolds | 1981 | 1988 | Republican | Ronald Reagan |
| – | William C. Lucas (acting) | 1988 | 1989 | Republican | Ronald Reagan |
| – | James P. Turner (acting) | 1989 | 1990 | Republican | Ronald Reagan |
| 11 | John R. Dunne | 1990 | 1993 | Republican | George H. W. Bush |
| – | James P. Turner (acting) | 1993 | 1994 | Democratic | Bill Clinton |
| 12 | Deval Patrick | 1994 | 1997 | Democratic | Bill Clinton |
| 13 | Bill Lann Lee | 1997 | 2001 | Democratic | Bill Clinton |
| 14 | Ralph F. Boyd Jr. | 2001 | 2003 | Republican | George W. Bush |
| – | Bradley Schlozman (acting) | 2003 | 2003 | Republican | George W. Bush |
| 15 | Alexander Acosta | 2003 | 2005 | Republican | George W. Bush |
| 16 | Wan J. Kim | 2005 | 2007 | Republican | George W. Bush |
| – | Grace Chung Becker (acting) | 2008 | 2008 | Republican | George W. Bush |
| 17 | Thomas Perez | 2009 | 2013 | Democratic | Barack Obama |
| – | Jocelyn Samuels (acting) | 2013 | 2014 | Democratic | Barack Obama |
| – | Molly J. Moran (acting) | 2014 | 2014 | Democratic | Barack Obama |
| – | Vanita Gupta (acting) | 2014 | 2017 | Democratic | Barack Obama |
| – | Thomas E. Wheeler II (acting) | 2017 | 2017 | Republican | Donald Trump |
| – | John M. Gore (acting) | 2017 | 2018 | Republican | Donald Trump |
| 18 | Eric Dreiband | 2018 | 2021 | Republican | Donald Trump |
| 19 | Kristen Clarke | 2021 | 2025 | Democratic | Joe Biden |
| – | Mac Warner (acting) | 2025 | - | Republican | Donald Trump |
| 20 | Harmeet Dhillon | 2025 | - | Republican | Donald Trump |