Main Justice was the first to report early last week that Voting Section Chief Christopher Coates, who had approved the voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party and the first voter intimidation case against black defendants in Noxubee County, Miss., had been transferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina.
Christopher Coates underwent an ideological conversion shortly after a black lawyer in the Voting Rights Section, Gilda Daniels, was promoted to deputy section chief over him in July of 2000 (U. of Baltimore photo).
Now Adam Serwer of The American Prospect has written a story that puts the shake up in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division into context. Coates, writes Serwer, “underwent an ideological conversion shortly after a black lawyer in the Voting Rights Section, Gilda Daniels, was promoted to deputy section chief over him in July of 2000. Outraged, Coates filed a complaint alleging he was passed up for the job because he is white. The matter was settled internally.”
Voting section employees help a goodbye lunch for Coates on Tuesday, writes Serwer:
At the end, the attendees were startled when Coates pulled out a binder and began reciting a written defense of his decision to file the New Black Panther and Noxubee cases. Voting Section employees exchanged glances in disbelief.
“It felt like he was summing up to a jury,” one attendee said.
Serwer also writes that Coates “has been identified by several current and former Justice Department officials as the anonymous Voting Section lawyer, referred to in the joint Inspector General/Office of Professional Responsibility report, that [Bradley] Schlozman recommended for an immigration judge position.”
One of the key players in the politicization scandal, Bradley Schlozman, wrote a letter to Monica Goodling, a former senior counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who was also implicated in the scandal involving politicized hiring, wrote of Coates:
Don’t be dissuaded by his ACLU work on voting matters from years ago. This is a very different man, and particularly on immigration issues, he is a true member of the team.
Be sure to read the whole story at the American Prospect.
Anyone familiar with the legal work of both Christopher Coates and Gilda Daniels would know why he would be outraged by being passed over for the job. One of them at least came to the office regularly.
Christopher Coates was well regarded by employees of both sides of the political spectrum. All one has to do is look at his case history his success in minority voting rights cases. One person’s opinion hardly constitutes the truth.
Agreed. Chris Coates was fair and has a long history of civil rights work. And he’d been there since the Clinton era — so not exactly a conservative plant. These they’re petty, untrue, and use slander and innuendo instead of a man’s history and the facts to make their point.
Both Coates and Daniels are fine attorneys. Daniels was at work regularly!
It’s amusing that critics of the Bush Administration are using Coates’ supposed conservative views on immigration as justification for this personnel action. If true, then it is just further evidence that the new politicos in the Civil Rights Division are doing the exact same thing that they criticized their predecessors of. Total hypocrisy. Coates’ name, though, should not be dragged through the mud in this silly political fight.
I met Mr. Coates when I sat in for two weeks to watch US v. Ike Brown, and developed a speaking acquaintanceship with Mr. Coates. Others with long experience, who disagreed with him on Noxubee County, have spoken of him with respect. As I am now writing on the DOJ as a “working system,” I would appreciate hearing from anyone who is knowledgeable and willing to discuss the operational details of the Civil Rights Division over its whole lifetime. Of course there are sometimes bitter feelings over philosophical, ideological, or even careerist issues. But I would also take public notice that Ted Olson and David Gies now are said to be mutually respectual colleagues.
[...] Ex-voting section chief defends Black Panther case [...]