PowerLine "The Department of Justice’s angry condemnation of the Ferguson police department asserts systemic racism in the enforcement of certain laws. I argued here that the DOJ’s report fails to show such racism, though it may exist.
. . .
"Eric Holder has a different remedial approach in mind. He says he’s “prepared to use all the powers” of the federal government against Ferguson. Asked if this includes “dismantling the police force,” Holder said, “If that’s what’s necessary, we’re prepared to do that.”
"But the DOJ’s report lays part of the blame for the ills it alleges on the municipal court system. Does Holder intend to dismantle Ferguson’s courts too?
"What the Justice Department really intends to do is coerce Ferguson into agreeing, in essence, to a less strict regime of law enforcement in certain respects. If Ferguson agrees, standards will be lowered and fewer fines will be handed out. If it doesn’t agree, Ferguson will be sued.
"Ironically, as Jim Scanlan has shown, reducing the number of fines will tend to increase the Black representation among those who are fined. In other words, it will increase disparate impact, the existence of which is the DOJ’s only hook for challenging Ferguson’s law enforcement practices.
"But so what? DOJ isn’t interested in reducing disparate impact. It simply wants Blacks to pay fewer and smaller fines." . . .
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