Posted on 04/24/2008 5:54:27 AM PDT by stan_sipple
OMAHA — A Nebraska commission hoping to win back federal funding was scrambling to negotiate with federal officials and the state attorney general, who said Wednesday that it might be better to let federal investigators handle the cases instead.
The Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission voted Wednesday to hire outside attorneys for the negotiations and possibly sue Attorney General Jon Bruning in order to retain its responsibility for the cases.
If the commission were to permanently lose federal backing, discrimination cases in Nebraska wouldn’t be abandoned. The cases would be investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“This whole instance is becoming an embarrassment’’ for the state, said Commissioner Arnold Nesbitt of the state commission. He and other commission officials said losing federal backing would hurt Nebraska’s reputation and make cases more complicated and time-consuming for all concerned.
The commission — which also pursues job discrimination and public accommodation cases — expected to lose $240,000 annually if it can’t satisfy federal officials. Anne Hobbs, the commission’s executive director, said it had already lost $16,800 since Monday and expected to lose at least $26,400 more on Wednesday. Normally, Nebraska gets $2,400 in federal money for each case it investigates.
The commission voted to hire attorneys from Brancart & Brancart, a California-based firm that represents plaintiffs in housing discrimination cases.
The vote sidestepped objections from Bruning and moved the commission a step closer to a possible legal showdown with him if commissioners and Bruning can’t reach an agreement that satisfies HUD officials. Bruning, whose office normally represents the commission, said he had not authorized the commission to hire outside lawyers and said he would recommend that the state treasurer not honor the checks.
“The (state commission) has a disastrous record of extremely poor performance, and so perhaps that’s just going to be better for everyone for those cases to go through HUD and the U.S. attorney,’’ Bruning told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Frankly, (the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission) has not shown the ability to perform.’’
The commission, the federal housing department and Bruning disagree over whether he has to file suit when the commission forwards him a case. He’s said that he doesn’t, which prompted the housing department to provisionally pull its funding.
Specifically, Bruning said that he would prosecute landlords if they discriminated against Hispanics or other groups, but he would not be a free civil lawyer for individuals who are illegal immigrants. HUD says that in housing law, a person’s immigration status is irrelevant.
When HUD decides to litigate a case, it most often turns it over to the Department of Justice.
The U.S. attorney for Nebraska, Joe Stecher, said that whether someone is in the U.S. illegally would not figure into his decision on whether to prosecute discrimination cases on behalf of HUD. The only criterion, he said, is whether an individual faced discrimination because of his or her race, national origin or other traits outlined in law.
A memo to Bruning from one of his staff attorneys says that Stecher, if asked by HUD to prosecute a case involving an illegal alien, “would be forced to ignore the harboring statute in order to do so.’’
That law makes it illegal for someone to knowingly help an illegal alien remain in the country.
“Imagine the landlord’s quandary when faced with either ‘discriminating’ against an illegal alien ... or, in the alternative, renting them housing and being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice for harboring an illegal alien,’’ said Tom Stine, civil litigation bureau chief, in the memo to Bruning.
But Stecher said the discrimination law doesn’t require that landlords, for example, rent to illegal aliens, only that they not treat people differently based on their race, national origin or other factors.
“Just because someone is an illegal alien doesn’t mean a landlord isn’t acting in a discriminatory manner,’’ Stecher said.
“If a landlord says he won’t rent to Hispanics, it doesn’t matter if they are here illegally or not.’’
People suing on the behalf of criminals should lose their jobs and pensions.
So.....what is this case about?
The local HUD people referred a case of housing discrimination to the attorney general for prosecution. The person he was supposed to represent was an illegal alien. The AG refused to pursue the case. The local HUD people have been in a snit ever since.
The NEOC is a joke, they find ham sandwiches have discriminated against people
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