Free Republic

The U.S. Justice Department failed to prove a North Carolina county sheriff ordered deputies to target Hispanic residents in violation of their civil rights, a federal judge ruled Friday. Judge Thomas Schroeder dismissed the government’s civil lawsuit against Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson. Justice Department attorneys failed to demonstrate that Johnson’s agency engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional law enforcement against Hispanics, the judge ruled. The government had alleged Johnson’s deputies routinely targeted Latinos for traffic stops. A statistical study commissioned by the DOJ said the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office was as much as 10 times more likely to stop...