11 Year Fed-Oversight of State Juvenile Justice Department Ends

Federal justice officials have ended monitoring of Georgia's Department of Juvenile Justice. The announcement was made this morning by Governor Sonny Perdue and the state's Juvenile Justice Commissioner, Albert Murray.

In 1998, Georgia entered into a memorandum of agreement with federal justice officials. It was the result of a stinging federal report that detailed conditions of overcrowding, lack of staff training, poor medical care, and inmate abuse among the problems in the state's juvenile facilities.

The Governor today:

"...we have made strategic investments and placed a focus on improving the level of care these young people receive. Our goal in this agency is to ensure that every child coming through these facilities is treated as if they were our own son or daughter, and I want to thank Commissioner Albert Murray and the rest of the DJJ staff for making the needed changes and improvements to bring our system to the level Georgians expect and deserve."

The lead monitor for U.S. DOJ, Dr. David Roush, wrote in the final report that he has seen substantial improvement in many programs during his 10-year involvement with DJJ. Roush singled out DJJ’s Office of Medical Services and Office of Behavioral Health Services, which he wrote are used as models for juvenile justice systems nationwide.

Delta-Northwest merger gets DOJ nod

The US Department of Justice has cleared the way for Atlanta's Delta Airlines and Minneapolis-based Northwest Airlines to merge. The Department's anti-trust division spent the last six months trying to determine if the merger would give the new airline an unfair advantage in the industry. The new airline will keep the Delta name and its Atlanta headquarters. In a statement, the division said the merger is likely to produce "substantial and credible efficiencies" that will benefit consumers nationwide and is "not likely to substantially lessen competition."

Department of Justice monitors elections

The United States Department of Justice will be monitoring elections in Georgia. The U.S. Attorney's Middle District office in Macon will be staffed by an assistant U.S. attorney on Election Day, until the polls close. He will be responsible for handling any complaints by voters and election officials. The FBI will also have special agents available in field offices across the state to help handle allegations of fraud and voter suppression. The Northern and Southern Districts will have similar staff on hand.

Feds investigate voter checks

The U.S. Department of Justice is questioning a high number of requests by Georgia officials to check the Social Security numbers of newly registered voters. Justice Department officials say the two million checks conducted in Georgia since Oct. 1, 2007 appear to represent a "substantial" change in state law. They say those checks need federal clearance under the Voting Rights Act to ensure they aren't discriminatory. DOJ Voting Section Chief Christopher Coates said that without preclearance any voting changes are "legally unenforceable."

(Associated Press)

Senate moves to fund unsolved murders

A push to prioritize solving unsolved civil rights murders has passed through the U.S. Senate. The bill would give the Justice Department more money to investigate the cold cases. It authorizes $10 million annually over 10 years to help the FBI and other agencies take a fresh look at dozens of cold cases, mostly in the South. The bill is named after Emmett Till, a black teenager murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman. His killers were never convicted.

(Associated Press)

Fed report critical of state mental hospitals

State health officials say Georgia's mental hospital system is on the road to recovery. That reaction comes as a blistering report was sent by federal investigators to Governor Sonny Perdue.

The U.S. Department of Justice outlined "critically deficient" conditions at Georgia Regional Hospital in Atlanta. Problems such as continued failures to address fatalities and violence were detailed at the Atlanta facility, with similar problems found in facilities in Rome and Savannah.

The federal investigation was conducted last fall. State officials say since then, 'fixes' to the problems have already begun.

Gwen Skinner heads Georgia's mental health system:

"I think that when you get reports like the one from the Department of Justice, it gives you focus. Because you're getting that kind of information from separate groups of people. It helps you focus on the things that are the most critical".

A mental health panel created by Governor Sonny Perdue just released its first progress report this week. The commission was set-up following the start of the federal probe last fall. Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley:

"Much of what’s in that (Dept. of Justice) letter are things that we have identified, things that we’ve already done--some short-term improvements, staffing levels, equipment purchases, those kinds of things. And then some long-term improvements as well many of which are contained in the mental health commission reports".

A federal lawsuit has been threatened by late July unless the state proves concrete
improvements in its mental health system.