U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta called the DOJ's actions "shameful" and "likely to harm" vulnerable communities. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
The DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs canceled more than $800 million in grants in April as part of what it called a priority shift to include more direct support to certain law enforcement operations, combat violent crime and support American victims of trafficking and sexual assault.
Democracy Forward Foundation and the Perry Law firm filed the lawsuit, arguing the grant terminations did not allow due process, lacked sufficient clarity and violated the constitutional separation of powers clause that gives Congress appropriation powers.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, seen here in 2012 before his judicial nomination, denied a preliminary injunction that five organizations sought against the DOJ. (REUTERS/Stan Honda/Pool)
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Noting that it intended to redirect the grant funds, it called the suit a "run-of-the mill contract dispute" and said it belonged in a different court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-lands-legal-victory-federal-judge-allows-800m-grants-clawed-back