DOJ Drops Probe Into Minnesota’s Hennepin County Race-Based Prosecutorial Policy

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Feb. 26 it has ended an investigation into a policy from Hennepin County, Minnesota, that it said required prosecutors to consider a defendant’s “racial identity” when making prosecutorial decisions.

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in a letter to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty that the DOJ dropped its investigation after Moriarty’s office revised the policy to remove language requiring prosecutors to take racial identity into account when sentencing defendants.

“Hennepin County Attorney’s Office dropped its unconstitutional policy of considering race in sentencing after we opened an investigation,” Dhillon said in a post on X.

The DOJ launched the probe in May 2025 to determine whether the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) violated federal civil rights laws by considering a defendant’s race in criminal prosecutions.

In her recent letter to Moriarty, Dhillon said the policy violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection for all citizens under the law, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race.

The policy has now been revised to bring it into compliance with those laws, according to the letter.

“HCAO’s policy change provides the injunctive relief we could have sought,” Dhillon wrote in the letter.

Dhillon said that other parties may still pursue legal action against the county attorney’s office for any harm caused under its previous policy.

“Your prior policy, however, leaves open the ability of people disadvantaged by it to challenge their criminal sanctions,” the DOJ official said. “Thus, your prior policy may still undermine past convictions and erode public safety.”

HCAO spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping said the policy change was part of efforts by the county attorney’s office to eliminate “improper biases” in its criminal legal system.

The spokesperson criticized the federal probe, calling it “a stunt.” He said the DOJ does not have the authority to investigate the county attorney’s office.

“Our policy was always constitutional,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The update makes it clear that racial bias and disparities have harmed our community for generations and we will take action to address them.”

HCAO told the DOJ in a Feb. 13 letter that its “Negotiations Policy” did not authorize prosecutors to discriminate against defendants on the basis of race.

The office said the policy is designed to ensure that “prosecutorial decision-making is not based on race or any impermissible ground and is instead based on the individual circumstances of each case.”