New York Office Washington, D.C. Office 40 Rector Street, 5th Floor 700 14th Street, NW, Suite 600 New York, NY 10006-1738 Washington, D.C. 20005 T 202.682.1300 T 212.965.2200 F 212.226.7592 F 202.682.1312 www.naacpldf.org March 2, 2021 Senator Dick Durbin Senator Chuck Grassley United States Senate United States Senate 711 Hart Senate Office Building 135 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510 Re: Letter of support for Associate Attorney General nominee, Vanita Gupta Dear Chairman Durbin and Ranking Member Grassley: On behalf of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (“LDF”), I write to express the unequivocal support of LDF for the nomination of Vanita Gupta, an LDF alum, to serve as the Associate Attorney General of the United States. LDF is the country’s first and foremost civil rights law firm. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, LDF’s mission has always been transformative: to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society. 1 Ms. Gupta was a member of the LDF staff from September 2001 to August 2006 and during that time she worked tirelessly to advance LDF’s mission. The position of Associate Attorney General is the third highest ranking position at the U.S. Department of Justice (“Department”) and therefore exercises immense influence over the culture and direction of the Department. In partnership with the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General helps direct operations and ensures that the mission of the Department is adhered to throughout the agency. While leadership positions at the Department have often been filled by attorneys who built their careers as prosecutors or corporate lawyers, LDF welcomes the nomination of a civil rights attorney, to this position. Ms. Gupta will bring vital expertise and a unique perspective to the Department. At this critical moment in the history of our country, it is of paramount importance that the Department be led by lawyers with a demonstrated commitment 1 LDF has been a separate organization from the NAACP since 1957. 1 to integrity, independence, civil rights, and equal justice under the law. As President Biden recently noted, “[The Justice Department] was formed in 1870 to enforce the civil rights amendments that grew out of the Civil War. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. To stand up to the Klan, to stand up to racism, to take on domestic terrorism. This original spirit must again guide and animate its work.”2 As the daughter of Indian immigrants, Ms. Gupta would be the first woman of color to serve as Associate Attorney General, and she would be the first civil rights lawyer to serve in one of the top three positions at the Department. Ms. Gupta’s extensive record of civil rights advocacy and enforcement renders her extremely qualified and well suited to reanimate the original spirit of the Department. Indeed, as Attorney General nominee Judge Merrick Garland stated during his recent nomination hearing: “[Ms. Gupta and Ms. Clarke] have skills that I do not have, they have experiences that I do not have…No human being can have all of the skills necessary to run the Justice Department and I need this leadership team if I'm going to be successful if you confirm me.”3 Ms. Gupta has devoted the entirety of her illustrious career to civil rights work. Her reputation as a fair minded and spirted advocate transcends ideological and partisan boundaries.4 She is a highly respected, innovative, and courageous civil rights lawyer who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to justice. Ms. Gupta has impeccable academic and professional credentials and would bring strong leadership and management skills to the position. She began her legal career at LDF after graduating from New York University Law School and Yale University. At LDF, Ms. Gupta worked on an array of criminal justice issues. In one of her first cases at LDF, Ms. Gupta worked tirelessly on behalf of 38 defendants who were wrongfully convicted of selling drugs based on the 2 Joe Biden Introduces DOJ Nominees Merrick Garland Transcript, (Jan. 07, 2021) https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/joe-biden-introduces-doj-nominees-merrick-garland-transcript. 3 Nomination Hearing, Judge Merrick Garland, Senate Judiciary Committee (Feb. 22, 2021) https://www.c-span.org/video/?508877-1/attorney-general-nominee-merrick-garland-testifies- confirmation-hearing. 4 Ryan Reilly, Policing Leaders Praise DOJ Nominee Vanita Gupta. One Group Is Smearing Her Anyway., Huffington Post (Feb. 19, 2021), https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vanita-gupta- confirmation-police_n_602e81adc5b66dfc101cd8c3. 2 uncorroborated testimony of one undercover officer with a history of racial hostility and misconduct in Tulia, Texas. As a result of her extraordinary advocacy, Ms. Gupta’s clients were pardoned by then-Governor Rick Perry and received an unprecedented $6 million settlement for civil rights violations.5 Ms. Gupta also worked for the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) as a staff attorney in the Racial Justice Program, and soon thereafter as Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU and director of its Center for Justice. While at the ACLU, Ms. Gupta launched the nationwide Campaign for Smart Justice, which focused on advancing a “smart on crime” framework to end mass incarceration and enjoyed bipartisan support.6 From October 2014 to January 2017, Ms. Gupta served as the acting assistant attorney general and principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.7 As the chief civil rights attorney for the United States, Ms. Gupta oversaw a wide range of criminal and civil enforcement efforts to ensure equal justice and to protect equal opportunity. Her bold, courageous leadership of the Civil Rights Division during the Obama administration galvanized the division’s deep engagement in investigating unconstitutional policing. During her tenure, the Civil Rights Division dealt with several of the most high-profile policing cases in recent years, including the investigations of the Ferguson, Baltimore, and Chicago police departments. Through her leadership, Ms. Gupta garnered a well- deserved reputation as a visionary civil rights lawyer with exceptional skill in consensus-building. Despite the highly contentious nature of this work, Ms. Gupta’s leadership has earned her uniform praise by civil rights advocates, and the respect of law enforcement leaders. Since June 2017, Ms. Gupta has served as the president and chief executive officer of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil rights coalition. In this role, Ms. Gupta has led a coalition of over 220 civil and human rights organizations during one of the most challenging periods in our nation’s history. In that capacity, she proved 5 An African-American Community in Texas is Victimized by the “War on Drugs,” NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (Sep. 29, 2009), https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/bad-times- tulia-texas/. 6 Vanita Gupta Bio, ACLU-Illinois (date unknown) https://www.aclu-il.org/en/vanita-gupta; Nicole McAfee, In Oklahoma, A Bipartisan March Toward Criminal Justice Reform, American Civil Liberties Union (Jun. 28, 2018), https://www.aclu.org/blog/smart-justice/oklahoma-bipartisan-march- toward-criminal-justice-reform. 7 Vanita Gupta, Responses for Non-Judicial Nominees, Senate Judiciary Committee, p. 2 (last accessed Mar. 1, 2021) https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Senate%20Judiciary%20Questionnaire%20- %20Vanita%20Gupta%201-27-21.pdf. 3 herself a fearless leader, willing to take on any entity which infringed upon the civil rights of the people of this country—including the federal government. Ms. Gupta has the requisite qualifications, talent, and integrity to excel as Associate Attorney General. Moreover, her unassailable reputation as a consensus builder and her record as a brilliant civil rights attorney make her an invaluable addition to the leadership of the Department of Justice. We urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance her nomination without delay and for the full Senate to confirm the nomination. Sincerely, Sherrilyn Ifill President-Director Counsel NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund 40 Rector Street 5th Floor New York, NY 10006 [email protected] 4 .