United States Attorneys need not obtain prior authorization by the Civil Rights Division to indict criminal civil rights cases, including human trafficking or involuntary servitude cases, unless the case has been deemed by the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division as a case of national interest or unless approval is necessary due to a statutory certification requirement. See Section 8-3.141. However, prior to presenting any civil rights case for indictment, the United States Attorney’s Office shall provide written notification to the Civil Rights Division of the intention to seek an indictment or to file a felony information. This notification should occur at least 10 business days before the indictment will be presented to the grand jury, except in emergencies when time is of the essence. The notification should be accompanied by a copy of the proposed indictment and a prosecutive memorandum. United States Attorneys’ Offices are encouraged to provide even earlier notice as a general practice in order to take full advantage of the expertise of the Civil Rights Division.

Even in those cases in which the United States Attorney’s Office need not obtain prior authorization to indict, if there exists a significant issue affecting the Department of Justice’s enforcement of federal civil rights laws, then the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division may exercise the ultimate authority to disapprove the prosecution.

If prior approval to indict a civil rights matter is required because the case has been deemed by the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division to be a case of national interest or because there is a statutory certification requirement, the United States Attorney’s Office will provide to the Civil Rights Division a copy of the proposed indictment and any prosecutive memorandum at least 10 business days in advance of the time when the indictment will be presented to the grand jury. The Civil Rights Division will communicate its authorization decision within 10 business days of receipt of the proposed indictment, unless certification by ranking Department officials is required by law, 18 U.S.C. §§ 245, 247, and 249.

When an attorney from the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division is jointly working on a case, or has been formally assigned to assist with legal issues, the indictment may be sent to the attorney assigned to the case. If there is no attorney in the Criminal Section formally assigned to the case, notification should be made to the Deputy Chief with supervisory authority over cases from the district seeking indictment approval or to the Principal Deputy Chief. In cases involving human trafficking or involuntary servitude, notification under this provision shall be made to the Criminal Section’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit at HTPU@usdoj.gov.

[updated March 2018] [cited in JM 8-3.200]