The United States and the city of New Orleans announced today that public meetings would be held regarding a consent decree court monitor for the New Orleans Police Department.

"Our investigation into CPD’s use of force practices will be thorough, fair and independent. We will follow the facts, wherever the facts. We will peel the onion to its core, and leave no stone unturned," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The Department of Justice has granted a request by the White Earth Nation for the United States to assume concurrent criminal jurisdiction on the 1,300 square mile White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota.

An employee of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (HHS-ASPR) pleaded guilty today in Washington, D.C., to defrauding the United States by submitting fraudulent employment offers in order to claim retention bonuses totaling $138,8875.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today $1.8 million in new resources to improve access to criminal legal services and strengthen indigent defense across the nation.

A former medical director for Biscayne Milieu, a Miami-based mental-health clinic, was sentenced today to serve 144 months in prison for his role in a fraud scheme involving the submission of more than $50 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare.

"This Hall symbolizes the fusion of two core principles here at the Department: Our respect for the majesty of the law, represented by the figure on your right; and our conviction that law’s proper role is in the service of justice, portrayed by the figure on your left," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

"Today – together – it’s time to declare, once again, that this is unacceptable – and unworthy of a legal system that stands as an example for all the world. It’s time to reclaim Gideon’s petition – and resolve to confront the obstacles facing indigent defense providers. Most of all, it’s time to speak out – with one voice – to rally our peers and partners at every level of government and the private sector to this important cause," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor elections on March 19, 2013, in Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties, S.C., and in the village of Port Chester, N.Y.

"Clarence Earl Gideon made a difference. Now it is up to every one of us to make his vision – and the words of the U.S. Supreme Court in his case – a reality. You have started on that path here in Texas," said Acting Senior Counselor Leff.

The Department of Justice announced last week that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the McDuffie County Schools in Georgia to modify the zoning of the district’s elementary schools and ensure the school district complies with other obligations to desegregate its schools in the areas of student assignment, faculty recruiting and assignment and transportation.

"We also gather this morning to reflect on the contributions - and sacrifices - that DOJ’s women have made in advancing the Justice Department’s mission as well as how women have made significant contributions to all aspects of our nation’s cultural, academic, economic, and military institutions," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"As technology continues to advance, ECPA’s importance to both criminal and civil law enforcement will only increase," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tyrangiel.

Sean Rosales pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to one count of an indictment pending against him, charging conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Hospice of Arizona L.C., along with a related entity, American Hospice Management LLC, and their parent corporation, American Hospice Management Holdings LLC, have agreed to pay $12 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting or causing the submission of false claims to the Medicare program for ineligible hospice services.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with the city of Wheatland, Calif., that, if approved by the court, will allow it to bail out from its status as a “covered jurisdiction” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt the city from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

"When a bank allows its customers, and even its customers’ customers, access to the national banking system, it should endeavor to understand the true nature of the business that it will allow to access the payment system, and the risks posed to consumers and society regarding criminal or other unlawful conduct," said Executive Director Bresnick.

The United States has asked a federal court in Montgomery, Ala., to bar Kenya Hendrix Adams from preparing tax returns for others.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a cooperative settlement agreement with the Arapahoe, Colo., County Sheriff’s Office under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This agreement is a companion to one reached on March 8, 2013, with the city of Englewood, Colo.

A federal grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, returned an indictment against Thomas Farmer, a former executive of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley Liner Services, for participating in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported by water between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

"It has indeed changed – but it has not changed as much as we would like, or as indigent defendants need, to achieve justice," said Acting Senior Counselor Leff.

The Justice Department announced that, jointly with the Meridian Public School District in Meridian, Miss., and private plaintiffs, it has filed a landmark consent decree to prevent and address racial discrimination in student discipline in district schools.

The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs is planning to invest more than $20 million to strengthen the firearm background check system by improving states’ abilities to share information with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

A superseding indictment against four Police of Puerto Rico (POPR) officers was announced today by Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico; and Carlos Cases, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office.

A registered nurse who fabricated nursing visit forms in connection with a $24 million home health care fraud conspiracy in Detroit pleaded guilty today for her role in the scheme.

A federal jury in Montgomery, Ala., found James Timothy Turner, also known as Tim Turner, guilty late Friday of conspiracy to defraud the United States, attempting to pay taxes with fictitious financial instruments, attempting to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service, failing to file a 2009 federal income tax return and falsely testifying under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding.

The Department of Justice today filed a motion to dismiss its antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan after the state of Michigan passed a law that prohibits health insurers from using most favored nation clauses in contracts with health care providers.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Poulan Pecan, resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Alexis Candelario-Santana, 41, faces life in prison following his conviction of murdering eight people and an unborn child and attempting to murder 19 others during a mass shooting at a Puerto Rico pub in 2009.

The Department of Justice today declined to state its enforcement intentions regarding the implementation of a proposal submitted by IPXI Holdings LLC and its wholly-owned subsidiary Intellectual Property Exchange International Inc. (IPXI) to develop an exchange for the trading of unit license rights (ULRs) to sets of patents.

The Justice Department today announced recent results of its civil injunction efforts to combat unscrupulous tax return preparers and tax fraud promoters.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary announced that Robert L. Listenbee Jr. has assumed the role as administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Honeywell Resins and Chemicals LLC has agreed to pay a $3 million civil penalty for alleged Clean Air Act violations at its Hopewell, Va., plant, and improve the facility’s air pollution control equipment and processes.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with Summit County, Ohio, and related parties, which if approved by the court, will resolve a sex discrimination lawsuit in which the United States intervened in June 2012.

The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women today announced a new Mentor Court Initiative to support criminal and civil domestic violence courts across the country.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Forsyth County, N.C., and Sheriff William T. Schatzman of Forsyth County to resolve allegations that they violated the employment rights of North Carolina Army National Guard soldier Michael Russell under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

Kenny McLaughlin, 35, a corrections officer at the Stone County Regional Facility in Stone County, Miss., pleaded guilty today in federal court to ordering the beating of an inmate at the detention facility.

On March 14, 2013, a federal grand jury in Macon, Ga., returned an 18 count indictment alleging that Natashia and Detrick Tucker, a husband and wife couple who owned and operated a tax preparation business named T&T Express located in Pine Mountain, Ga., conspired to defraud the United States by preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns that illegally claimed inflated tax refunds for their clients.

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor elections on April 2, 2013, in Finney County, Kan., and Douglas County, Neb. The monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes.

An indictment against former Jefferson Parish, La., Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, was announced today by Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The owner and the director of nursing of a Louisiana home health agency were each convicted late Friday for conspiring to defraud Medicare of $17.1 million.

The United States announced today that the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) has successfully implemented an agreement on the use of electronic control weapons, commonly referred to as Tasers.

The Department of Justice today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Seattle has indicted Jamie Larson, 49, on a federal hate crime charge relating to a racially-motivated assault of a 50-year-old Sikh man.

A former contract employee of the U.S. Defense Department (DoD) was sentenced today to serve 35 months in prison for his participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme arising from corruption in the award of defense contracts at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait.

A federal jury in Detroit today convicted a home health agency owner and a physical therapist for their participation in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and European Commission Vice President Viviane Reding met today in Washington, D.C. They had cordial discussions on a wide range of fields of collaboration between the Department of Justice and the European Commission.

The Justice Department announced today that under its 2011 settlements with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, and Saxon Mortgage Servicing Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, 316 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010 are due to receive over $39 million in monetary relief for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, over the past year it has reached seven settlements with eight health care providers from across the United States to ensure that they are providing effective communication to people who are deaf or have hearing disabilities.

Walter Scott Steele, a former correctional officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI), and Lanny Harris, a former correction sergeant at RCI in Hagerstown, Md., pleaded guilty today in relation to assaults against an inmate on March 9, 2008.

"I promised them I would never forget – just as I know you have not forgotten. On this, of all nights, let us dedicate ourselves, as Dr. King would expect us to do, to this new struggle," said Attorney General Holder.