copyright 2009, The Washington Post WASHINGTON -- The backlog of civil rights complaints and the delay in the confirmation of Tom Perez, President Obama's nominee to head the Civil Rights Division, are making action on important cases slow going, said John Amaya, a former Justice Department lawyer who now works on immigration issues at the National Council of La Raza. He pointed to the case of Luis Ramirez, the Mexican man beaten by the football players 14 months ago in the Shenandoah, Pa., street fight. In May, after a week-long trial, a local jury acquitted two of the defendants of all charges except for simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor. Neither received more than seven months in jail. Another was tried as a juvenile and received probation. The last cooperated with the Justice Department, pleaded guilty in federal court, and awaits sentencing. The Justice Department began monitoring the case more than a year ago and, according to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., is continuing to review the incident. Representatives of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund hand-delivered two boxes of petitions, containing 50,000 signatures, to Justice officials in June, asking that the defendants be charged under federal hate crimes law. Holder mentioned the department's review to the Hispanic lawyers group this month, indicating that the case is a priority for the Civil Rights Division. Amaya wants more action. The division has 'launched a number of investigations' into alleged hate crimes against Latinos, he said. 'Now we just want to see them concluded.' 