[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E21-E22]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             GRATITUDE FOR THE SERVICE OF LASHAWN Y. WARREN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 13, 2010

  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
thank one of the most dedicated and productive members of the Judiciary 
Committee staff for her service to the House, LaShawn Warren. For 2\1/
2\ years, LaShawn served as Oversight Counsel for the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  LaShawn graduated magna cum laude from Savannah State College in 
Savannah, Georgia. She earned her law degree from Howard University, 
where she served as co-editor-in-chief of the Social Justice Law Review 
and rose to the leadership ranks of many of the law school's societies 
and associations. In addition to her law degree, she earned a 
certificate in non-profit management from Georgetown University's 
Center for Professional Development.
  Prior to joining the staff of the Judiciary Committee, LaShawn served 
as Legislative Counsel for Civil Rights for the American Civil 
Liberties Union, ACLU. As Legislative Counsel, she prepared 
congressional testimony for the U.S. Congress and the United Nations 
Human Rights Council, UNHRC, and lobbied Members of Congress, UNHRC 
members, and their respective staffs on voting rights, education 
equity, racial profiling, employment, housing, domestic violence 
policy, welfare reform, privacy, international human rights, and civil 
rights enforcement. She chaired advocacy and legislative coalitions, 
worked with national and local media, and served as the lead strategist 
for the civil rights community's successful effort to reauthorize the 
Voting Rights Act in 2006. Prior to her tenure at the ACLU, she served 
as a legislative analyst for the Seattle City Council and as an 
Assistant Attorney General for the Washington State Office of the 
Attorney General.
  During her time with the Judiciary Committee, LaShawn led the 
Congress' investigation into the enforcement of Federal civil rights 
laws, hiring practices, and resource management issues in the Civil 
Rights Division, CRT, of the Department of Justice. By the end of the 
110th Congress, her work had exposed massive politicization of the 
CRT's operations, including its hiring practices and case-prosecution 
decisions. Cleaning up that division--so central to the equal rights of 
all Americans--is a great legacy of LaShawn's work at the Committee. 
She additionally served as the Committee's lead counsel on voting 
issues and conducted investigative and legislative

[[Page E22]]

work related to voting, employment, housing, predatory lending, 
bankruptcy, civil rights and criminal law enforcement, international 
law compliance, and civil rights in immigration policy. She authored 
large portions of the Committee staff's report ``Reining in the 
Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the 
Presidency of George W. Bush'' and supervised the drafting and editing 
of the Committee's bipartisan amici brief in Northwest Austin Municipal 
Utility District No. 1 v. Eric H. Holder (2009).
  On behalf of the Judiciary Committee, its staff, and this 
distinguished body, I would like to thank LaShawn for her service and 
for her unwavering commitment to protecting and advancing civil rights 
and liberties for all Americans. We are losing a dear colleague, 
mentor, and friend--her generosity, optimism, professionalism, and 
warmth shall be sorely missed. We wish her the best of luck and extend 
to her our deepest gratitude.

                          ____________________