Ashcroft Personnel Moves Irk Career Justice Lawyers

Attorney General John D. Ashcroft has moved in recent months to consolidate his control over the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, turning over control of sensitive issues traditionally handled by career lawyers to more conservative political appointees.

On a variety of issues, including voting rights and employment discrimination, Ashcroft aides have moved to limit the input of career employees, in some cases meeting with defendants without informing the career lawyers handling the cases or allowing them to be present, career lawyers said.

Political staff also took control of the department's consideration of Mississippi's redistricting plan, sources said, and rejected career lawyers' recommendation to approve a plan proposed by the state's Democratic-controlled legislature. After delays, a panel of three Republican federal judges approved a plan favorable to Rep. Charles W. "Chip" Pickering Jr. (R-Miss.), whose district was affected by the redistricting.

Ashcroft aides describe the actions as part of the normal process of a new administration taking over an agency previously led from a different political viewpoint.