Schools must support children as they learn expectations about behavior and conduct. But a routine school discipline infraction should land a student in a principal’s office – not in a police precinct.

That's why we are all gathered here this morning. Under the leadership of Attorney General Eric Holder, the U.S. Department of Justice has used a variety of tools to respond when law enforcement misconduct is uncovered. Those include everything from technical assistance provided by our Office of Justice Programs and our COPS Office to full-fledged enforcement actions by our Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney's Offices around the country, and everything in between.

More funding will be available this year, and I am also pleased that President Obama’s budget request for next year includes $11 million for programs to support responses to child maltreatment. This funding will potentially provide critical operational assistance to child advocacy centers and valuable training and technical assistance that will further strengthen the multidisciplinary response to child abuse cases.

Five men have been charged in the Eastern District of New York with conspiring to defraud the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers’ Union (NMDU) and Hudson News newsstands to obtain a union card and employment at Hudson News newsstands for the son of the alleged underboss of the Colombo family.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day to recommit ourselves to breaking the cycle of violence that affects far too many transgender Americans.

This training has been in the works for some time now. For the last several years, the Justice Department at various levels has engaged in a constructive dialogue, animated by common aspirations and common concerns, with LGBT leaders throughout the country. And one of the many ideas we’ve received finds its manifestation in today’s gathering: a transgender law enforcement cultural professionalism training.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the retirement of H. Marshall Jarrett, Director for the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) as well as the appointment of Monty Wilkinson as the new Director for EOUSA.

The calculus that many businesses make today is similar to the decisions that the mom and pop stores had to make several decades ago: Does the cost of paying out – that is, failing to tell the authorities about cyber attacks – outweigh the costs of potential retaliation?

Today, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota sitting in Bismarck, N.D., convicted Lindrith Tsoodle, 58, of one felony count and one misdemeanor count of using excessive force on persons in his custody in November and December of 2010.

I also come to this discussion as my father's son. He was a man born and raised deep in the Jim Crow south. And when the time came for his eldest child and only son to take up driving lessons, dad was my teacher, imparting all the familiar lessons of keeping my eyes on the road and signaling before I turned.

As the April 15 tax filing deadline approaches, Attorney General Eric Holder warned U.S. tax filers to beware a “rising threat” of scammers seeking fraudulent refunds based on stolen identities, and vowed aggressive enforcement against the practice. Speaking in a recorded video message released on the Justice Department’s website, Attorney General Holder explained that a growing pool of criminals are engaged in the activity, including gangs and drug sellers seeking quick access to cash.

Daniel Sutterfield, 35, Chief of the Bull Shoals Police Department, was arrested yesterday on charges related to his use of excessive force in the arrest of a Bull Shoals resident and a related false report.

"Unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities is harmful to people with disabilities and to our communities. We cannot wait another day to change. And we won’t. Because today, the Justice Department, the state of Rhode Island and the business community, together, embrace real integration of people with disabilities – committing to make Rhode Island a model for other states to follow."

I believe that the only real, sustainable choice – the only safe and humane option – is the one that broadens opportunity and widens the path to success. Each of you is helping to lead us in that direction, and we are marching forward with you. And I am optimistic that we will continue to see an America that is safer, healthier, and more just.

Every April, our nation pauses to mark the contributions, and the profound sacrifices, of this extraordinary leader. Dr. King dedicated his career to the service of others.

"You are helping to realize the promise of our justice system by working to give every victim a voice and the help they need and deserve."

Following a comprehensive investigation, today the Justice Department announced its findings that the Albuquerque Police Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force that violates the Constitution and federal law.

"This investigation was not an easy task, but through all of these efforts, we made certain to gather the facts and apply the law to the facts to reach our conclusions."

"This joint guidance is an important step in making clear that legitimate cyber threat sharing can help secure the nation’s networks and that it can occur without raising antitrust liability issues."

I know the paths that brought you to this courtroom have been anything but easy. But each of you is here today because you’ve decided not to let past choices – and challenges – define you. You’re working hard to stay on a constructive path. And I am proud of every one of you.

At the time of Judge Waring’s landmark dissent in Briggs v. Elliott, I was less than six months old, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education was nearly three years away. Yet because of Judge Waring’s powerful words – and the legal foundation they helped to provide – my generation would be the very first to come of age in a post-Brown America. And we were the first that would never know a world in which “separate but equal” was the law of the land.

The chief executive officer and a managing partner of a New York-based U.S. broker-dealer were arrested today on felony charges arising from a conspiracy to pay bribes to a senior official in Venezuela’s state economic development bank.

It was that promise that, nearly forty years ago, led Congress to hold a series of hearings that lifted the curtain and shed light on abusive child-welfare practices that were separating Native children from their families at staggering rates; uprooting them from their tribes and their culture. Roughly one of every three or four Indian children, according to data presented at those hearings, had been taken from their birth families and placed with adoptive families, in foster care, or in institutions that had little or no connection to the child's tribe.

Following the recent tragedies at a Jewish Community Center in Kansas and at Ft. Hood, Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress Tuesday to approve $15 million in funding for active shooter training for law enforcement officers to ensure they have the tools they need to effectively respond to threats, protect themselves, and save innocent lives.

A Cleveland federal grand jury returned an indictment against one current executive and two former executives of Bridgestone Corp. for their roles in an international conspiracy to fix prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.

You see, the United States is more than a place on the map -- it’s an idea; the idea that you are free to control your own destiny, for yourselves and your family; the idea that you are part of something larger than yourselves; that you have a chapter to write in the great story of our nation; the idea that no matter where you came from, or who your ancestors are, how you worship or what you look like, you have a role in shaping our shared future

A former Bridgestone Corp. executive has agreed to plead guilty and to serve 18 months in a U.S. prison for his role in an international conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.

In every case and circumstance, our efforts will continue to be guided by the recognition that – while smart law enforcement will always play a critical role in protecting communities from drug crime, we will never be able to arrest or incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation. We’ll keep relying on innovative leaders like you to apply 21st century solutions to 21st century problems. And we’ll never stop driving investments in the kinds of groundbreaking research – and data-driven strategies – that so many of you have long championed.

Michael Garcia, a former detective with the Las Cruces Police Department who focused on child abuse and sex crimes investigations, pleaded guilty today in federal court to a one count information charging Garcia with violating the civil rights of an LCPD student intern when he sexually abused her while on duty.

A few days ago, many of you observed the beginning of Passover, marking the start of a long and difficult journey from tyranny and persecution toward freedom in the Promised Land. Today, this community begins its own journey of healing. And although the road ahead will not be easy, I promise you that I, and millions of others throughout our nation, will be here to walk alongside you – not only today, but always. We will never stop fighting for justice. And we will never forget the names, or the stories, of those we lost.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Department of Justice announced a nationwide university tour by top administration officials to raise awareness of campus sexual assault.

"Earth Day is another reminder to me of that commitment, a commitment that the Department of Justice is dedicated not only to protecting the people of our country, but also to protecting its natural resources."

As part of the Justice Department’s new clemency initiative, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole announced six criteria the department will consider when reviewing and expediting clemency applications from federal inmates.

Showa Corp., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Saitama, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $19.9 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for pinion-assist type electric powered steering assemblies installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere.

We are launching this clemency initiative in order to quickly and effectively identify appropriate candidates, candidates who have a clean prison record, do not present a threat to public safety, and were sentenced under out-of-date laws that have since been changed, and are no longer seen as appropriate.

And then there came this moment during the ceremony, after everyone had taken the citizenship oath in unison, when everyone proudly pulled out miniature American flags and started waving them furiously. All of a sudden this auditorium of people distinguished by their differences became awash in red, white and blue -- everyone bound together by a shared identity; bound together by an idea, this bold experiment in self-government we call the United States of America.

A former executive of a rubber hose manufacturer, who was extradited from Germany in early April 2014, today pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve two years in prison for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices and allocate market shares of marine hose sold in the United States and elsewhere.

As Reverend Garanzini mentioned, I am the Associate Attorney General of the United States, the number three official at the Justice Department. And throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to hold many titles. But they all pale in importance to the roles I play as the father of an intelligent and talented daughter; as the older brother of two amazing sisters and brother-in-law to a third; as an uncle, a son and a husband.

The goals that bind together every nation represented here are, as ever, rooted in our long shared and defining values. For well over a century, our mutual commitment to cooperation has played an indispensable role in ensuring stability, international security and bolstering global collaboration. And today, once again, this community of nations stands as one – our ranks strengthened by partners, old and new, from around the world, and our peoples united by a joint and pressing obligation: to respond to the challenges of this day, to help resolve the conflicts of this hour, and to stand with the people of Ukraine in this moment as they rightfully chart their own, independent course to safety, prosperity, and peace.

It will be no small feat, but we ultimately must change the culture on campuses and in communities, so that everyone understands that sexual assault is never acceptable.

Although our Forum has reached its conclusion, the work we perform will not end. We will not lose sight of these critical challenges. And we will not diminish our focus on eliminating corruption wherever it occurs, and whatever form it takes.

The Department of Justice reached a settlement with eBay Inc. that prevents the company from entering into or maintaining agreements with other companies restraining employee recruitment and hiring.

"This is one further step towards closing an unfortunate chapter for Silicon Valley and other companies who unlawfully agreed to deny their employees the opportunity to receive competing job offers. These so-called “do not poach” or anti-solicitation agreements are per se unlawful, and the Antitrust Division takes them very seriously," said Assistant Attorney General Baer.

The former executive director of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Virgin Islands for accepting bribes and engaging in extortion in the award of contracts with the Legislature.

Especially as we approach the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, in which Chief Justice Earl Warren called education “a right which must be made available to all on equal terms,” it is imperative that we do everything in our power to end policies or practices that deny this right to those who are constitutionally entitled to it.

Within the Department, we have moved forward with our groundbreaking Diversity Management Initiative to promote diversity within our own ranks. Through our close partnership with the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, we have helped to create considerable new opportunities for our employees to thrive – both personally and professionally. And thanks to the tireless efforts of employee organizations like DOJ Pan Asia and others, we continue to encourage every member of the DOJ family to grow, to learn, and to advance in their lives and careers.

The former co-chief executive officer (CEO) of PetroTiger Ltd. – a British Virgin Islands oil and gas company with operations in Colombia and offices in New Jersey – was indicted today for his role in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to defraud PetroTiger.

A former New York-based tax liens company executive pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions conducted by New Jersey municipalities for the sale of tax liens.

The Department of Justice today announced the federal government’s first lawsuit filed against owners and servicers of student loans for violating the rights of servicemembers eligible for benefits and protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

As difficult as times may be – and as wrenching as every loss we mark this evening – we affirm this week that our work must go on. Each of us is called to serve, to protect, and to help forge a society worthy of the passion, the dedication, and the sacrifices made by each of our fallen heroes. To create not merely a monument to their stories, but a living memorial. And to build a country dedicated to preserving and perpetuating their memories by reaching for the better and brighter future that all of our citizens deserve.