Context:

Five organizations are challenging the U.S. Justice Department's abrupt termination of grants, claiming the cancellations are unconstitutional and demanding reinstatement. The Vera Institute of Justice, Center for Children & Youth Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action, FORCE Detroit, and Health Resources in Action filed a lawsuit, asserting the terminations violated due process and lacked regulatory authority. The lawsuit contends the cancellations were based on vague agency priorities not specified in law or policy, contravening regulations that prohibit rescinding grants post-award without specific terms. The affected organizations, having never faced terminations before, are experiencing severe repercussions such as layoffs and program shutdowns due to the midstream cancellations. Lawyers seek not only to reverse the cancellations but also request oversight of compliance through state reports every 30 days.

Dive Deeper:

• Five organizations, including the Vera Institute of Justice and the Center for Children & Youth Justice, are suing the U.S. Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the unconstitutional cancellation of grants worth nearly $820 million.

• The lawsuit, filed by the Democracy Forward Foundation and the Perry Law firm, seeks class action status and includes the Office of Justice Programs and its acting head as defendants, challenging the lack of due process and clarity in the grant terminations.

• The plaintiffs argue that the grant cancellations are based on new agency priorities not articulated in law or policy, violating federal regulations that prohibit post-award cancellations unless specified in the grant terms.

• The organizations allege that the sudden termination of grants midstream, covering community violence intervention, hate crime combatting, and law enforcement training, has resulted in layoffs and disrupted community partnerships.

• The lawsuit emphasizes the historical precedent of these organizations receiving grants from both Democratic and Republican administrations without prior terminations, highlighting the unusual nature of the current cancellations.

• In addition to seeking reinstatement of the grants, the lawsuit requests that a judge mandate state reports every 30 days to ensure compliance with any court orders regarding the grant reinstatement.

• A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment on the lawsuit, while the affected organizations continue to navigate the financial and operational repercussions of the grant cancellations.