"The rats are jumping ship"

That's the title of the email I recieved from a friend of mine who forwarded me this. You know when lawyers jump ship there's something wrong somewhere!

Career Lawyers Leaving Justice Department
by Ari Shapiro

Civil Rights Division Letters Critics say these two letters are evidence of the division's changing culture. A Justice spokesman says there is no fundamental difference between the two.

Vista, Calif., Letter (2003) (Requires Adobe Acrobat)

Franklin, Ohio, Letter (2005) (Requires Adobe Acrobat)

Morning Edition, October 6, 2005 · Tension has been growing between career lawyers and political appointees in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, according to some longtime career attorneys who have recently left the division. Now the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding confirmation hearings for a new leader of the politically sensitive group.

Some career professionals who have left the Civil Rights Division say they left because they were shut out of the decision making process in a way that did not occur under previous administrations.

Darn. I missed Morning Edition today because I had a job interview. The letters are interesting and definitely are not just variations on a theme, but you can judge for yourself.