News

President Bush Nominates Ralph F. Boyd, Jr. to Head DOJ Civil Rights Division

March 6, 2001

(WASHINGTON, DC) – President Bush announced today that he will nominate Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice.

"We are very pleased with the President's choice for this important position at the Justice Department," said Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans. "We look forward to working with him on issues of concern to gay and lesbian Americans. Ralph Boyd brings a unique set of personal and professional experience to the job of enforcing civil rights laws for all Americans."

Mr. Boyd is currently a partner at the firm of Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. In March 1996, he was appointed by then-Governor William F. Weld (R-MA) – a staunch ally of Log Cabin Republicans – to the Executive Committee of the state's Judicial Nominating Council. Mr. Boyd served on the Council with Mark Goshko, then-president of Log Cabin Republicans of Massachusetts, who was also appointed by Governor Weld. In 1997, Mr. Boyd was appointed to serve on the U.S. Magistrate Judge Selection and Review Panel by the judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Previously, Mr. Boyd served as Assistant United States Attorney in the Major Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston.

Mr. Boyd, who is African American, graduated from Haverford College (B.A., 1979) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1984). Following law school, he served as law clerk to the Honorable Joseph H. Young, United States District Judge for the District of Maryland. He then litigated civil cases during five years of private practice.

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice was established in 1957 for the purpose of enforcing federal statutes that prohibit exclusion and discrimination. The Division is responsible for coordinating the civil rights enforcement efforts of federal agencies whose programs are covered by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and assists federal agencies in identifying and removing provisions in their policies and programs that are discriminatory under federal law.