“I don't think we had complete clarity at the time the (Department of Justice) made its presentation in October or September,” Hamilton said. Michael Newman, the Senior Assistant Attorney General of the California Department of Justice's Civil Rights Enforcement Section, said the DOJ was still in negotiation with Hamilton before the task force's fifth meeting and no contracts had been signed. Hamilton, a leading national authority on race and public policy, has been involved in crafting progressive policy proposals, such as Baby Bonds, which are trust accounts for low-income kids funded by taxpayers.