Our pattern or practice investigation of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) marked the first time ever that the Justice Department found reasonable cause to believe that a police department had engaged in a pattern or practice of gender-biased policing.

WHITEHOUSE: Council on Women and Girls Blog

Officials have even broached the idea of changing the pattern of work in the department so that firemen do not spend such large blocks of time together.

ECONOMIST: Fire services

"And the nomination of Mr. Koh appears to be the beginning of a verytroubling pattern, " Lamborn told me, citing Justice Department nominees Dawn Johnsen ( assistant attorney general for legal counsel) and David Ogden (deputy attorney general) as cases of high-level Obama appointees who have histories of praising international law over U.S.-made law.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: House 'Sovereignty Caucus' Aimed at Koh

In one of its most sensitive police "pattern or practice" investigations to date, the Justice Department is now working to get Los Angeles city officials to sign a consent decree authorizing a third party to monitor the city's Police Department and imposing other safeguards.

CNN: latimes.com: Bush sees U.S. as meddling in local police affairs

Sotomayor lodged a grievance with what was then the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, accusing Princeton of an "institutional pattern of discrimination" in admissions and in hiring "Puerto Rican and Chicano" faculty.

CNN: Commentary: Latino in the Ivy League