A formal inquiry into repeated unlawful conduct by an agency or institution, not just one bad incident.

"Pattern" means the conduct shows up again and again; "practice" means it may be built into how people are trained, supervised, or allowed to operate. In civil rights cases, that usually points to a police department, jail, school, employer, or housing provider whose actions suggest a broader system of discrimination, excessive force, unlawful searches, or other constitutional violations. The focus is less on a single officer's mistake and more on whether the organization has a recurring problem with policies, customs, or discipline that keeps producing the same harm.

Practically, these investigations matter because they can uncover records an injured person would never see on day one: prior complaints, body-camera issues, use-of-force reports, training gaps, and internal reviews that went nowhere. A federal pattern-or-practice case can also lead to negotiated reforms, court oversight, or a consent decree. That does not automatically win a private lawsuit, but it can strongly support claims involving negligent supervision, municipal liability, or a Section 1983 case.

In Wyoming, there is no separate state "pattern or practice" statute commonly used the way the federal government uses 34 U.S.C. § 12601. That federal law allows the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate law enforcement agencies when repeated misconduct appears to be the rule rather than the exception - which, like a dangerous stretch of highway, usually means the problem is bigger than one wreck.