[blindlaw] Criminal Division, Fraud unit opening

Tue Aug 7 02:28:19 UTC 2012

Mr. Thomas:

I was licensed to practice law in Texas in 1983.  95% of my 29 years
practicing has been in criminal law; 3 years as a state prosecutor and the
remainder as a defense attorney.

For many years, minorities were systematically discriminated against in the
jury selection process.  It was common practice for prosecutors to utilize
their preemptory challenges to first strike minorities, then unfavorable
whites with any remaining strikes.

In 1986, the Supreme Court, in Batson v. Kentucky, ruled that prosecutors
could not systematically eliminate minority jurors simply because they were
black, hispanic or oriental, etc.  The Supremes said that the state must
have an articulable, rational reason, other than merely being a minority,
before using a preemptory challenge on minority jurors.

Batson did not stop the practice of the state systematically utilizing
preemptory challenges to strike minorities from jury panels; it merely
altered the hoops a prosecutor must jump through to do so.  It remains a
routine practice otherwise.  Today, prosecutors are trained to develop jury
questionairres and voir dire questions so as to allow them to discriminate
against minority jurors while being able to articulate a rational basis for
doing so.

Ultimately, Batson changed nothing about the process other than how the
process was engaged.

In my years in the legal community, I see it the same in the practice of
hiring and the issue of disabilities.  For years, the system discriminated
against handicaps.  The creation of the EEOC, and the passage of the
Americans With Disabilities Act has done little to change this problem.
Hiring agencies have simply adjusted their hiring policies and procedures to
continue to discriminate while having an articulable, rational reason for
why it is they hired someone other than the handicapped person involved.

It is sad, But, as you mention, it is reality.

Dan McBride

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Russ Thomas
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2012 7:36 PM
To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Criminal Division, Fraud unit opening

Not to be too skeptical, but these ads are written so that employers can
beat their breasts with pride about how they are willing to hire the
disabled. I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen, but we all have had the
experience at least one time in our lives (sometimes more than one time)
where the so-called equal opportunity employer reacts with utter horror when
you walk in the door. This is not to discourage anyone; rather, it is to
make everyone aware of reality.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mike Fry
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2012 4:57 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Cc: Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Criminal Division, Fraud unit opening

Has a visually impaired attorney ever got a lateral job like this?  If so,
please share the story.  I ask seriously because these types of post always
go on our mailing list.  I know these types of lateral positions are very
competitive.  

Sent from my iPad

On Aug 6, 2012, at 4:34 PM, "Ross Doerr" <rumpole at roadrunner.com> wrote:

> U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
> CRIMINAL DIVISION, FRAUD SECTION
> EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS / GS-905-14/15
> VARIOUS DUTY LOCATIONS
> 12-CRM-FRD-077
> About the Office: The Fraud Section is a litigating unit that 
> investigates and prosecutes complex, multi-district and international 
> white-collar criminal cases throughout the country and implements and 
> coordinates the Department's fraud enforcement policy. Fraud Section 
> cases focus on corporate, securities and investment fraud, foreign 
> bribery (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), health care fraud, financial 
> institution and insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, procurement and 
> government program fraud (including fraud related to economic stimulus 
> and recovery programs), mass marketing fraud and other complex 
> criminal
schemes.
> 
> Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The Criminal Division, U.S.
> Department of Justice, is seeking qualified, experienced attorneys for 
> several term positions in the Fraud Section located in various duty 
> locations within the U.S.
> 
> Responsibilities will include investigation and litigation of criminal 
> health care fraud matters and will require travel.
> 
> Qualifications: Required: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an 
> active member of a bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least three (3) 
> years of post-J.D. legal experience.
> 
> Desired candidates should demonstrate strong analytic, writing and 
> oral advocacy skills.
> 
> Travel: Domestic and international travel is required.
> 
> Position and Salary Information: These positions are for two year term 
> appointments, with the possibility of extensions contingent on 
> available funding.
> 
> Years of experience and current salary determine the appropriate 
> salary level. The salary range for these positions is GS-14 to GS-15 
> (Base pay of
> $84,697 - $129,517 plus the applicable locality pay of the duty location).
> See OPM's Web page at www.opm.gov/oca/payrates/index.html
> 
> Location: Positions are available in the following locations:
> 
> Baton Rouge, LA
> Brooklyn, NY
> Detroit, MI
> Houston, TX
> Dallas, TX
> Los Angeles, CA
> Miami, FL
> Tampa, FL
> Chicago, IL
> 
> Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized.
> 
> Submission Process and Deadline Date: To apply for these positions, 
> please submit a cover letter (highlighting relevant experience), a 
> detailed resume, law school transcript and a current performance 
> appraisal (if applicable)
> to: Employment.Fraud at usdoj.gov (E-mail submission preferred) or mail to:
> 
> U.S. Department of Justice
> Criminal Division, Fraud Section
> 1400 New York Ave, NW (Bond Building)
> Washington, DC 20530
> ATTN: Ben Crockett
> 
> No telephone calls please.
> 
> Please specify in your cover letter each of the duty locations for 
> which you would like to be considered. If you do not specify any duty 
> location, you will be considered for any of the nine locations.
> 
> These vacancies are open until filled.
> 
> Internet Sites: This and selected other attorney vacancy announcements 
> can be found on the Internet at 
> http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html
> 
> For more information about the Criminal Division, please visit 
> http://www.justice.gov/criminal/
> 
> Department Policies: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal 
> Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise 
> provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, 
> race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital 
> status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, 
> sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, 
> membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis 
> of
personal favoritism, or any non merit factor.
> 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 notify the agency. 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.
> Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory 
> adjudication of a background investigation. 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).
> 
> 
> 
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