Attorney General's
Annual Report
2009
Current Objectives
Establishing the DOJ’s Civil Rights Unit
Oregon Attorney General John Kroger recently appointed Portland lawyer Diane Schwartz Sykes to lead the new Oregon Department of Justice Civil Rights program. Ms. Sykes hails from the Oregon Law Center and Legal Aid Services of Oregon where she represented farm workers, domestic violence victims and other victims of discrimination.
Stay tuned for updates.
Defending the Rights of All Oregonians
Attorney General Kroger has made protecting the civil rights and liberties of Oregon citizens a major priority. In the 1980s, the Oregon Department of Justice housed a civil rights unit. But funding for the program was cut, and the unit was eliminated. The Department has not employed a single attorney who specializes in the practive of civil rights law. That is why Attorney General Kroger secured legislative approval in the 2009 session to restore the unit.
The Department of Justice’s restored civil rights unit will:
- Fight discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and national origin;
- Protect Constitutional free speech and reproductive rights; and
- Defend Oregon veterans at work and in the marketplace.
 Previous Goal: Provide great legal services to Oregon's state government |
