[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2354 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2354

   To limit judicial interference in the management of the Nation's 
   prisons and jails and permit incarceration of greater numbers of 
dangerous offenders, without restricting the legitimate constitutional 
                           rights of inmates.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 9, 1993

  Mr. Canady (for himself and Mr. McCollum) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To limit judicial interference in the management of the Nation's 
   prisons and jails and permit incarceration of greater numbers of 
dangerous offenders, without restricting the legitimate constitutional 
                           rights of inmates.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be 
cited as the ``Prison Litigation Relief Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. ACTIONS CHALLENGING CONDITIONS OF CONFINEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Title 28, United States Code is amended by 
inserting after chapter 176 the following new chapter:

      ``CHAPTER 177--ACTIONS CHALLENGING CONDITIONS OF CONFINEMENT

``Sec.
``3401. Limitations on remedies.
``3402. Consent decrees.
``3403. Modification of orders or decrees.
``Sec. 3401. Limitations on remedies
    ``(a)(1) If the district court, in any action challenging the 
constitutionality of conditions of confinement in any prison, jail, 
detention facility, or other correctional institution housing persons 
accused or convicted of a crime or juveniles adjudicated delinquent, 
finds that one or more conditions of confinement are in violation of 
the United States Constitution, the court shall narrowly tailor any 
relief to fit the nature and extent of the violations and shall make 
the order no more intrusive than absolutely necessary to ensure that 
the violations are remedied. The court shall have no jurisdiction--
            ``(A) to impose a ceiling on the population of any 
        institution or to require any adjustment of the release dates 
        of inmates; or
            ``(B) to prohibit the use of tents or prefabricated 
        structures for housing inmates.
``Sec. 3402. Consent decrees
    ``(a) No consent decree in any action challenging the 
constitutionality of conditions of confinement in any prison, jail, 
detention facility, or other correctional institution housing persons 
accused or convicted of a crime or juveniles adjudicated delinquent 
shall provide relief greater than the minimum required to bring the 
conditions of confinement into substantial compliance with the United 
States Constitution.
    ``(b) In entering a consent decree, the court shall make a written 
finding that the relief provided in the decree is no greater than the 
minimum required to bring the conditions of confinement into 
substantial compliance with the United States Constitution. If it 
appears to the court that the relief provided in the decree is greater 
than the minimum required, the court may recommend changes in the 
decree.
``Sec. 3403. Modification of orders or decrees
    ``(a)(1) Upon motion of a defendant at any time, the court may 
conduct a hearing on whether an order or decree described in section 
3401 or 3402 of this title should be modified in light of--
            ``(A) changed factual circumstances affecting the operation 
        of the order or decree, whether or not foreseeable;
            ``(B) a change or clarification of the governing law, 
        whether or not foreseeable;
            ``(C) a succession in office of an official responsible for 
        having consented to a decree;
            ``(D) the government's financial constraints or any other 
        matter affecting public safety or the public interest; or
            ``(E) any ground provided in Rule 60(b) of the Federal 
        Rules of Civil Procedure.
    ``(2) The court shall conduct such a hearing if the motion was 
filed more than one year after the date of the order or decree or the 
date on which the last previous modification hearing was conducted, 
whichever is later.
    ``(b) If the court denies a motion to modify an order or consent 
decree under subsection (a) of this section, the court shall make a 
written finding that the relief provided in the order or decree, as of 
the date of decision, is no greater than the minimum required to bring 
the conditions of confinement into substantial compliance with the 
United States Constitution.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the beginning of 
part VI of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to chapter 176 the following:

``177. Actions Challenging Conditions of Confinement........    3401''.

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