Resource: Review of the Use of Monitors in Civil Settlement Agreements and Consent Decrees Involving State and Local Government Entities

By: Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assoc. AG Vanita Gupta

September 13, 2021

U.S. Department of Justice

Today, the Justice Department will begin implementing a set of principles and specific recommendations regarding the use ofmonitors in civil settlement agreements and consent decrees involving state and local governmental entities. These actions are the result of a review conducted by the Associate Attorney General pursuant to my April 16, 2021 , memorandum concerning such matters. Among other things, the April 16 memorandum noted the importance ofensuring that monitors used in these matters are independent, highly qualified, and free of conflicts of interest. To further those important aims, the memorandum directed the Associate Attorney General to conduct a review to determine ifadditional guidance regarding the use of monitors was warranted. The Associate Attorney General has now provided, and I approve, a set of principles for the use ofmonitors in civil settlement agreements and consent decrees involving state and local governmental entities. Those principles are accompanied by a set of recommended implementation actions, which I also approve.

https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1432236/download