WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today pressed Attorney General nominee William Barr on the racial disparities that infect the criminal justice system. Booker asked Barr to explain previous statements he had made about how “the benefits of increased incarceration would be enjoyed disproportionately by black Americans living in inner cities” and “a failure to incarcerate hurts black Americans most.” In 1992, Barr commissioned and contributed to a report entitled, “The Case for More Incarceration.” During Booker’s questioning, Barr admitted the approach he advocated in the past harmed black communities.  

 

“Do you believe now, 30, 40 years of mass incarceration targeted disproportionately towards African-Americans…do you think that this system of mass incarceration has disproportionately benefited African-American communities?” Booker asked.


“I think the reduction in crime has since 1992,” Barr responded. “But I think the heavy drug penalties have harmed the black community and the incarceration rates have harmed the black community.”

 

Barr also committed to commissioning a study on racial disparities and the disparate impacts of the Department of Justice’s enforcement policies. The commitment came after Booker’s questioning revealed Barr was unfamiliar with many of the stunning statistics and studies about racial injustice within the criminal justice system.

 

“Of course I’ll commit to studying that,” Barr promised.

 

During questioning Booker also won a commitment from Barr not to prioritize the enforcement of federal marijuana law in states where pot is legal.

 

“I’m not going to go after companies that have relied the Cole memo,” Barr said. The Cole memo was a 2013 Department of Justice memo instructing federal prosecutors not to prioritize the enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states where it was legalized. It was rescinded by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2017. Booker is the author of a landmark bill in the Senate that would end the federal prohibition on marijuana and reinvest in communities most harmed by the War on Drugs.

 

Video of Booker’s line of questioning is available here.