A recent report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) states that during the Bush years, enforcement of civil rights cases has dropped dramatically. Using key data from the Justice Department and the federal courts, the study suggests the instances when the investigative agencies recommended that charges be filed against a particular individual were down by almost half, from 85 cases in 1999 to 49 cases in 2003.

According to recent court data, this drop in criminal cases against civil rights violators appears to mirror those situations where the government decided to impose civil sanctions against the violators. Civil suits can involve voting rights violations, employment and housing discrimination and other matters. In 2001 the government filed 740 civil actions, but by 2003 the count dropped to just 576.

Using a quote from President Bush at the annual meeting of the Urban League on July 23, "My administration and its Justice Department has vigorously enforced the civil rights laws," TRAC suggests that President Bush was deceiving those attending by guaranteeing them full protection of civil rights and equality before the law.

The report goes on to suggest that the Bush Administration might have diverted its investigators from referrals and prosecutions in the civil rights area to terrorism and internal security since 9/11.

A New York Times article quoted one of the study's authors, David Burnham as saying, "Collectively, some violators of the civil rights laws are not being dealt with by the government. This trend, we think, is significant."

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) is a data gathering, data research and data distribution organization associated with Syracuse University.