Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Gail Heriot in In the Name of Hate: Examining the Federal Government's Role in Responding to Hate Crimes, a Report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Abstract

On November 13, 2019, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report entitled In the Name of Hate: Examining the Federal Government’s Role in Responding to Hate Crimes. This Commissioner Statement is part of that report.

The Statement discusses the problems of (1) hate crime hoaxes; (2) overbroad definitions of hate crimes; and (3) double jeopardy issues raised when the federal government seeks to re-prosecute under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act a defendant who has already been acquitted in state court.

Keywords: Hate crimes, hoaxes, double jeopardy, Commission on Civil Rights, Southern Poverty Law Center, Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

JEL Classification: K00, K10