A federal judge has ruled against five non-profit organizations that sued the Trump administration over the rescinding of hundreds of millions of dollars meant to prevent and respond to issues such as gun violence, substance abuse and hate crimes.
In an opinion released on Monday, judge Amit P Mehta, who was appointed by Barack Obama in 2014, said that while the cuts were “shameful”, he does not have the authority to enact an injunction that would keep the dollars flowing. “[The] defendants’ rescinding of these awards is shameful. It is likely to harm communities and individuals vulnerable to crime and violence. No federal agency, especially the Department of Justice, should conduct itself in such [a] manner,” Mehta wrote.
The lawsuit was filed on 21 May in the district court for the District of Columbia by five non-profits that’d lost millions of dollars in grant funding through the justice department’s largest grant maker, the office of justice programs (OJP) the month prior. On 22 April they were among hundreds of organizations to receive notices from the justice department telling them that their grants were terminated because they no longer aligned with the agency’s priorities.
Instead, the department intends to focus on “more directly supporting certain law enforcement operations, combatting violent crime, protecting American children, and supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, and better coordinating law enforcement efforts at all levels of government”, the notice read.
The plaintiffs alleged that the cuts were done arbitrarily and went beyond the justicve department’s authority, and Vera Institute of Justice, the suit’s lead plaintiff described the judge’s decision “discouraging”.
“Vera and the co-plaintiffs brought the lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of organizations across the country whose awards were abruptly and callously terminated by the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs, and should be restored,” Nick Turner, Vera’s president and director, said in a statement. “While we do not agree with the court’s overall decision, we must agree with Judge Mehta when he says that ‘[n]o federal agency, especially the Department of Justice, should conduct itself in such manner.’
“The sudden and unlawful termination of these public safety grants makes neighborhoods everywhere less safe and does irreparable harm to communities across the country,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which filed the suit , said in a press release announcing the complaint’s filing.
The organizations represented in the suit are: the Vera Institute of Justice’s center on youth justice, Center for Children & Youth Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Stop AAPI Hate, Force Detroit and Health Resources in Action.
In response, the justice department argued that the case is an example of a “classic contractual dispute” and should have been filed in the court of federal claims. Outside of the courtroom, they also said that grants were cut because they “failed to effectuate” and further the Trump administration’s crime fighting approach.
This lawsuit is one of several filed against the Trump administration funding cuts for research and community-based services.
