Racism riot in Florida prosecutor's office leads to settlement with Justice Department

Jack Campbell, the United States Attorney for the Second Judicial District, and the federal Justice Department reached an agreement Thursday to resolve allegations that defendants of Hispanic origin are routinely denied a settlement when they drive without a valid license.

As part of an agreement with the agency, about 100 employees of the prosecutor's office for the six-county region will be trained on the prohibition of racial discrimination set out in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In April 2023, allegations of racial profiling came to light when a newly assigned assistant district attorney to the county's Monticello office found a “cheat sheet” of sentencing guidelines taped to a wall.

The memo said individuals with “extensive criminal histories and/or Hispanic ancestry” should be excluded from diversion programs or have their sentences withheld.

Background story: According to the prosecutor's memo, tougher agreements are being made for Hispanics; prosecutor calls it a mistake

Aftermath: After uproar over “racism policy”, prosecutor is open to reviewing cases and regulations on consultation

Campbell said at the time that the document misrepresented the office's policies and asked for federal guidelines on how to handle cases of illegal immigrants without valid driver's licenses.

This led to a Justice Department investigation “based on allegations of discriminatory practices” that lasted months.

“The SAO has cooperated fully with the DOJ during the review,” the agreement states. “To date, the DOJ has reviewed information provided by the SAO, conducted interviews with SAO staff, conducted interviews with other interested parties and members of the public, and reviewed publicly available documents.”

Prosecutors denied any wrongdoing, and Justice Department investigators did not conclude that discrimination occurred in the case.

Deputy Attorney General Kristen Clarke said investigators found that Campbell immediately distanced himself from the “cheat sheet” and reprimanded its author.

However, the Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Justice requires Campbell to adopt a specific anti-discrimination policy in law enforcement within 60 days.

“With this agreement, the Attorney General for the Second Judicial District of Florida is taking steps that will help ensure that the public is served without bias or discrimination,” Clarke said.

As part of the agreement, the prosecutor agreed to the following:

acknowledges its obligation to comply with Title VI.
Implementing “mandatory training on non-discrimination in law enforcement” for all prosecutors’ employees and contractors.
Obtain approval of trainers and curriculum from the Ministry of Justice.
provide quarterly reports on anti-discrimination efforts to the Ministry of Justice upon request.
introduce a public complaints procedure regarding discriminatory practices.
Communicate within 30 days with defendants who negotiated a plea deal between January 2017 and April 2023 to determine whether they were offered an unfair deal.
Identify any other defendants who were not offered a settlement.
Inform the public defender's office about which defendants may seek an alternative disposition of their charges.
Review all correspondence with affected defendants over a six-year period to determine further remedial action.
Convene a working group of stakeholders to ensure compliance with the agreement and develop best practices for prosecuting discrimination.

Mackenzie Hayes apparently uncovered three-tiered misdemeanor appeals in the six counties of the Second Judicial Circuit. She quit her job after finding the memo describing how misdemeanor appeals are handled.

“I am very pleased that the Department of Justice recognizes that it is not only unethical and contrary to every prosecutor's oath to serve justice, but also illegal to prosecute people disparately based on their race. I am proud to have helped take a first step toward ensuring that no one in Tallahassee and surrounding communities will ever again be treated more harshly by Jack Campbell's office because of their race,” Hayes wrote in a statement.

Hays was assigned to the Monticello office in January 2017 and said the five employees there regularly spoke differently about “Mexicans” than about other defendants.

Then she found the cheat sheet for admitting guilt to a crime, which she said matched exactly what she experienced.

Hays resigned six days after the transfer and moved to another state. She is now a prosecutor for District Attorney Larry Krassner in Philadelphia, PA.

Campbell insisted at the time that the cheat sheet – first published by Our Tallahassee, a website run by political activist Max Herrle – was a misunderstanding.

“I did not become a prosecutor to make life difficult for people who do not have a valid driver’s license,” Campbell told the Democrat.

When the ACLU of Florida saw a photo of the memo, it condemned it as large-scale racial profiling that forever changes people's lives because of “minor offenses.”

Florida prohibits illegal immigrants from obtaining a driver's license. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states do so if the applicant presents certain documents.

In an email to the media, Campbell, who was first elected to office in 2017, stressed that the review had found “no finding of discrimination.”

“However, this incident has underscored the need for additional training, policy changes and outreach to ensure we are adequately serving the communities we represent,” Campbell wrote. “The department has agreed to provide us with increased resources over the next two years, and we are committed to improving.”

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected] and on X as @CallTallahassee.

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Racism riot in Florida prosecutor's office leads to settlement with Justice Department

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