RePortersNoteBook.com: NOT A JOKE: Affirmative Action to the Extreme: RETARDED LAWYERS WANTED

Feb 4, 2010

NOT A JOKE: Affirmative Action to the Extreme: RETARDED LAWYERS WANTED

Department of Justice Seal

U. S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division, Voting Section
Trial Attorney, GS-14/15

The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division is seeking up to 10 experienced attorneys for the position of Trial Attorney in the Voting Section in Washington, D.C. The Civil Rights Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in voting, education, employment, housing, police services, public accommodations and facilities, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Voting Section enforces federal statutes designed to safeguard the right to vote. These statutes include the Voting Rights Act, as amended; the National Voter Registration Act; the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; and the Help America Vote Act.

Trial attorneys are responsible for conducting investigations, litigation, and other activities addressing all aspects of the Voting Section's enforcement duties. These positions may require extended hours and some positions may involve significant travel.

APPLICATION PROCESS: The primary method of applying for this vacancy is online via the Internet at www.avuedigitalservices.com/dojjmd/applicant.html. If you do not have access to the Internet you are strongly encouraged to visit your library, state employment commission, or a commercial establishment that provides Internet access to apply online. If you are unable to apply online, you may call the contact phone number listed on this announcement to obtain a copy of the vacancy announcement, applicant qualification form (Form No. F-15566-AVUE), and instructions for completing the form. No other form of application will be accepted. Applications sent by fax, e-mail and mail will not be accepted.

Applicants using the Avue on-line system for these positions do not need to complete the Work History portion of the on-line profile; instead please attach the following after clicking the Attach Resume and Supporting Documents tab: a cover letter (highlighting relevant experience), a resume, a brief writing sample (10 pages or less) that is the applicant's own work, and a current performance appraisal. If you are a current or former federal employee, please attach a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action).
Attorney positions are in the excepted service, and applicants for attorney positions are not rated/ranked. For a description of the Civil Rights Division's process for hiring experienced attorneys, please see [http://www.justice.gov/crt/legalinfo/attyhire_exp.pdf].

Applications for this position are being processed through an on-line applicant assessment system that has been specifically configured for Department of Justice applicants. Even if you have already developed a resume in USAJOBS, you will need to access this on-line system to complete the application process. To obtain information about this position and TO APPLY, please click on http://www.avuecentral.com/vacancy.html?ref=ZLREY.

DUTIES:

The core duties of Trial Attorneys in the Voting Section are: conducting investigations to assess alleged violations of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and other voting statutes enforced by the Section, including reviewing investigative files, materials and records, and applying relevant case law, interviewing witnesses, requesting additional information and documents, analyzing data and evidence, and drafting written recommendations for further investigation and/or enforcement litigation; developing cases for trial, including conducting written discovery and depositions, developing litigation and trial strategy, drafting complaints, motions and other court filings, representing the United States in federal court at arguments, evidentiary hearings and trial; negotiating settlement agreements and/or consent decrees resolving enforcement matters; assisting in coordinating the federal observer program during elections; and assisting in the administrative review of voting changes submitted pursuant to the preclearance requirements of the VRA. The complexity of the matters assigned, and the level of supervision required, varies depending on the Trial Attorney's years of specialized experience.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM FEDERAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and have a minimum of three (3) years post-J.D. experience. Applicants must have substantial litigation experience, such as handling discovery, litigation strategy, motions practice, brief writing, interviewing witnesses, taking and defending depositions, trial preparation, trial practice, and negotiations. Applicants must have excellent interpersonal skills, be mature and self sufficient, communicate effectively orally and in writing, and possess excellent professional judgment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

In addition, the following qualifications are preferred: (1) substantive knowledge of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and other statutes enforced by the section; (2) familiarity with the various analytical approaches utilized to review voting changes under Section 5 of the VRA; (3) experience investigating and/or litigating voting rights or civil rights cases; (4) federal judicial experience; (5) experience serving as the lead attorney in federal court cases; (6) familiarity with statistical methodologies used in civil rights cases; (6) and fluency in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, or vietnamese languages.

Current salary and years of specialized experience will determine the appropriate salary level within the GS-14 to GS-15 range ($105,211.00 through $155,500.00 per annum). Final selection for these positions will be subject to budgetary funding constraints.

Other Information:

As part of the on-line application process, applicants are asked to provide - on a voluntary basis - demographic information on their race/ethnicity/national origin, sex and disability. Applicants are also asked to indicate how they learned about this vacancy. This information is used to determine if our recruitment efforts are reaching all segments of the population, consistent with federal equal employment opportunity laws.

No individual personnel selections are made based on this information. Your voluntary responses will be treated in a highly confidential manner, and any disability-related information will be kept confidential and used only in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act and 29 C.F.R. §1630.14(b)(1). Only summary data are reported and only in a format which cannot be broken out by individual applicants; no individual data will be provided to members of the public at any time. In addition, demographic data are separated from your application materials, and no individual data are provided to selecting officials or anyone else who can affect your application at any point during the selection process. No information from this form is ever placed in your personnel file, and failure to provide the requested information will not affect your application in any way. The authority for requesting this information is 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16 and the Rehabilitation Act. This notice of the uses of this information is provided pursuant to Public Law 93-579 ("Privacy Act of 1974"), and the information provided becomes part of a Privacy Act System of Records as identified in 5 C.F.R. 552a; any disclosure of this record or information contained in this record is in accordance with routine uses found in OPM/GOVT-7, Applicant Race, Sex, National Origin, and Disability Status Records.

We encourage you to provide this vital information, which we cannot obtain from any other source; we can get it only from you. Thank you for helping us to provide better service.

The Civil Rights Division encourages qualified applicants with targeted disabilities to apply. Targeted disabilities are deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, convulsive disorder, mental retardation, mental illness, severe distortion of limbs and/or spine. Applicants who meet the qualification requirements and are able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation are encouraged to identify targeted disabilities in response to the questions in the Avue application system seeking that information. For additional information for applicants with targeted disabilities, please contact the Civil Rights Division's Disability Program Manager, Diane Petrie, at (202) 514-3934; see also http://www.jan.wvu.edu/LEAD/index.htm and http://www.opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY / REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer, and encourages qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination for or against an applicant because of color, race, religion, national origin, politics, marital status, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, or on the basis of personal favoritism. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact the Civil Rights Division's Reasonable Accommodations Coordinator, Thomas Skeeter, at 202-616-9974. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment.

This position may require extended hours and significant travel.

The U.S. Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department or the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.

Relocation expenses are not authorized.

Employment is contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation.

As a condition of employment, all male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must have registered for the selective service. If selected for this position, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law.

Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

How To Apply:
Applications for this position are being processed through an on-line applicant assessment system that has been specifically configured for Department of Justice applicants. Even if you have already developed a resume in USAJOBS, you will need to access this on-line system to complete the application process. To obtain information about this position and TO APPLY, please click on http://www.avuecentral.com/vacancy.html?ref=ZLREY.

If you are unable to apply online, you may contact the employing office for alternate application procedures. Please call Diane Turner at (202) 514-3934 or email atcrd.attyvacancies@usdoj.gov.

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An Ethnie without a sense of peoplehood will end up being used to achieve the goals of other ethnies. -- Michael Santomauro

A Sense of Peoplehood is not a Pathology

It is not racist for a professor such as Alan Dershowitz or for a professor like Kevin MacDonald to advocate for their ethnic group interests.

The words for bigotry, that are often used, such as: ant-Semitic, anti-white, anti-black, anti-Arab, anti-feminist, anti-gay and hundreds of other labels, are for the most part overstated. Instead, it should be seen as pro-white, or pro-Jewish or pro-women or pro-traditional family and not be ashamed of it.

These "pro" sensibilities are part of the human condition, not to be pathologized into an "anti."

It is about group interests.

A race or an ethnie without a sense of peoplehood or ethnichood will end up being used to achieve the goals of other ethnies. (Yes, ethnie, not ethnic).

The feelings or thoughts for peoplehood is not a pathology. A European-American will have White ethnic interests and it is not racist to have them. Just as Hispanics, Asians, Jews and Blacks have their own ethnic interests, it should not be a pathology for Whites to have ethnic interests. –Michael Santomauro