[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3907 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3907
To increase public confidence in the justice system and address any
unwarranted racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 16, 2014
Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase public confidence in the justice system and address any
unwarranted racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Justice Integrity Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the pursuit of justice requires the fair application of
the law;
(2) racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process
have contributed to a growing perception of bias in the
criminal justice system;
(3) there are a variety of possible causes of disparities
in criminal justice statistics among racial and ethnic groups
and these causes may differ throughout the United States,
including crime rates, racial discrimination, ethnic and
cultural insensitivity, or unconscious bias, as well as other
factors;
(4) the Nation would benefit from an understanding of all
factors causing a disparate impact on the criminal justice
system; and
(5) programs that promote fairness will increase public
confidence in the criminal justice system, increase public
safety, and further the pursuit of justice.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a pilot program in 10
United States districts in order to promote fairness, and the
perception of fairness, in the Federal criminal justice system, and to
determine whether legislation is required.
(b) Program Requirements.--
(1) U.S. attorneys.--The Attorney General shall designate,
in accordance with paragraph (3), 10 United States Attorneys
who shall each implement a plan in accordance with section 4,
beginning not later than 1 month after those United States
Attorneys are designated by the Attorney General.
(2) Purpose.--The purposes of the plans required by this
section are--
(A) to gather racial and ethnic data on
investigations and prosecutions in the United States
districts and the causes of disparities, if any;
(B) to determine the extent to which the
communities' perception of bias has affected confidence
in the Federal criminal justice system;
(C) to analyze whether measures may be taken to
reduce unwarranted disparities, if any, and increase
confidence in the criminal justice system; and
(D) to make recommendations, to the extent
possible, to ensure that law enforcement priorities and
initiatives, charging and plea bargaining decisions,
sentencing recommendations, and other steps within the
criminal process are not influenced by racial and
ethnic stereotyping or bias, and do not produce
unwarranted disparities from otherwise neutral laws or
policies.
(3) Criteria for selection.--
(A) In general.--The 10 pilot districts referred to
in subsection (a) shall include districts of varying
compositions with respect to size, case load,
geography, and racial and ethnic composition.
(B) Metropolitan areas.--At least 3 of the United
States Attorneys designated by the Attorney General
shall be in Federal districts encompassing metropolitan
areas.
SEC. 4. PLAN AND REPORT.
(a) In General.--
(1) United states attorney.--Each United States Attorney
shall, in consultation with an advisory group appointed in
accordance with paragraph (2), develop and implement a plan in
accordance with subsections (b) and (c).
(2) Advisory group.--
(A) Appointment.--Not later than 90 days after
designation by the Attorney General, the United States
Attorney in each of the 10 pilot districts selected
pursuant to section 3 shall appoint an advisory group,
after consultation with the chief judge of the district
and criminal justice professionals within the district.
(B) Membership.--The advisory group of a United
States Attorney shall include--
(i) 1 or more senior social scientists with
expertise in research methods or statistics;
and
(ii) individuals and entities who play
important roles in the criminal justice process
and have broad-based community representation
such as--
(I) Federal and State prosecutors;
(II) Federal and State defenders,
if present in the district, and private
defense counsel;
(III) Federal and State judges;
(IV) Federal and State law
enforcement officials and union
representatives;
(V) a member of the United States
Sentencing Commission or designee;
(VI) parole and probation officers;
(VII) correctional officers;
(VIII) victim's rights
representatives;
(IX) civil rights organizations;
(X) business and professional
representatives; and
(XI) faith-based organizations that
provide services to people involved in
the criminal justice system.
(C) Term limit.--Subject to subparagraph (D), a
member of the advisory group shall not serve longer
than 5 years.
(D) Permanent members.--Notwithstanding
subparagraph (C), the following shall be permanent
members of the advisory group for that district:
(i) The chief judge for the judicial
district.
(ii) The Federal defender for the judicial
district.
(iii) The United States Attorney for the
judicial district.
(E) Reporter.--The United States Attorney may
designate a reporter for each advisory group, who may
be compensated in accordance with guidelines
established by the Executive Office of the United
States Attorneys.
(F) Independent contractors.--The members of an
advisory group of a United States Attorney and any
person designated as a reporter for such group--
(i) shall be considered independent
contractors of the United States Attorney's
Office when in the performance of official
duties of the advisory group; and
(ii) may not, solely by reason of service
on or for the advisory group, be prohibited
from practicing law before any court.
(b) Development and Implementation of a Plan and Report.--
(1) Advisory group report.--The advisory group appointed
under subsection (a)(2) shall--
(A)(i) systematically collect and analyze
quantitative data on the race and ethnicity of the
defendant and victim at each stage of prosecution,
including case intake, bail requests, declinations,
selection of charges, diversion from prosecution or
incarceration, plea offers, sentencing recommendations,
fast-track sentencing, and use of alternative
sanctions; and
(ii) at a minimum, collect aggregate data capable
of individualization and tracking through the system so
that any cumulative racial or ethnic disadvantage can
be analyzed;
(B) seek to determine the causes of racial and
ethnic disparities in a district, and whether these
disparities are substantially explained by sound law
enforcement policies or if they are at least partially
attributable to discrimination, insensitivity, or
unconscious bias;
(C) examine the extent to which racial and ethnic
disparities are attributable to--
(i) law enforcement priorities,
prosecutorial priorities, the substantive
provisions of legislation enacted by Congress;
or
(ii) the penalty schemes enacted by
Congress or implemented by the United States
Sentencing Commission;
(D) examine data including--
(i) the racial and ethnic demographics of
the United States Attorney's district;
(ii) defendants charged in all categories
of offense by race and ethnicity, and, where
applicable, the race and ethnicity of any
identified victim;
(iii) recommendations for sentencing
enhancements and reductions, including the
filing of substantial assistance motions,
whether at sentencing or post-conviction, by
race and ethnicity;
(iv) charging policies, including decisions
as to who should be charged in Federal rather
than State court when either forum is
available, and whether these policies tend to
result in racial or ethnic disparities among
defendants charged in Federal court, including
whether relative disparities exist between
State and Federal defendants charged with
similar offenses;
(v) the racial and ethnic composition of
the Federal prosecutors in the district; and
(vi) the extent to which training in the
exercise of discretion, including cultural
competency, is provided prosecutors;
(E) consult with an educational or independent
research group, if necessary, to conduct work under
this subsection; and
(F) submit to the United States Attorney by the end
of the second year after their initial appointment a
report and proposed plan, which shall be made available
to the public and which shall include--
(i) factual findings and conclusions on
racial and ethnic disparities, if any, and the
State of public confidence in the criminal
process;
(ii) recommended measures, rules, and
programs for reducing unjustified disparities,
if any, and increasing public confidence; and
(iii) an explanation of the manner in which
the recommended plan complies with this
paragraph.
(2) Adoption of plan.--Not later than 60 days after
receiving and considering the advisory group's report and
proposed plan under paragraph (1), the United States Attorney
appointed under section 3 shall adopt and implement a plan.
(3) Copy of report.--The United States Attorney shall
transmit a copy of the plan and report adopted and implemented,
in accordance with this subsection, together with the report
and plan recommended by the advisory group, to the Attorney
General. The United States Attorney shall include with the plan
an explanation of any recommendation of the advisory group that
is not included in the plan.
(4) Congress.--The Attorney General shall transmit to the
United States Attorneys in every Federal district and to the
Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of
Representatives copies of any plan and accompanying report
submitted by a pilot district.
(c) Periodic United States Attorney Assessment.--After adopting and
implementing a plan under subsection (b), each United States Attorney
in a pilot district shall annually evaluate the efficacy of the plan.
In performing such assessment, the United States Attorney shall consult
with the advisory group appointed in accordance with subsection (a)(2).
Each assessment shall be submitted to the Executive Office for United
States Attorneys for review in accordance with subsection (d).
(d) Information on the Pilot Program.--
(1) Report and model plan.--Not later than 5 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall--
(A) prepare a comprehensive report on all plans
received pursuant to this section;
(B) based on all the plans received pursuant to
this section the Attorney General shall also develop
one or more model plans; and
(C) transmit copies of the report and model plan or
plans to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate
and the House of Representatives.
(2) Continued oversight.--The Attorney General shall, on a
continuing basis--
(A) study ways to reduce unwarranted racial and
ethnic disparate impact in the Federal criminal system;
and
(B) make recommendations to all United States
Attorneys on ways to improve the system.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for use, at the
discretion of the Attorney General, by the United States Attorneys'
advisory groups in the development and implementation of plans under
this Act.
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