[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 554 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 554

    To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to judicial 
                 remedies regarding prison conditions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 18, 1995

    Mr. Canady of Florida (for himself and Mr. Pete Geren of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to judicial 
                 remedies regarding prison conditions.

    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 ``Stop Turning Out Prisoners Act''.

SEC. 2. APPROPRIATE REMEDIES FOR PRISON CONDITIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 3626 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 3626. Appropriate remedies with respect to prison crowding
    ``(a) Requirements for Relief.--
            ``(1) Limitations on prospective relief.--Prospective 
        relief in a civil action with respect to prison conditions 
        shall extend no further than necessary to remove the conditions 
        that are causing the deprivation of the Federal rights of 
        individual plaintiffs in that civil action. The court shall not 
        grant or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds 
        that such relief is narrowly drawn and the least intrusive 
        means to remedy the violation of the Federal right. In 
        determining the intrusiveness of the relief, the court shall 
        give substantial weight to any adverse impact on public safety 
        or the operation of a criminal justice system caused by the 
        relief.
            ``(2) Prison population reduction relief.--In any civil 
        action with respect to prison conditions, the court shall not 
        grant or approve any relief whose purpose or effect is to 
        reduce or limit the prison population, unless the plaintiff 
        proves that crowding is the primary cause of the deprivation of 
        the Federal right and no other relief will remedy that 
        deprivation.
    ``(b) Termination of Relief.--
            ``(1) Automatic termination of prospective relief after 2-
        year period.--In any civil action with respect to prison 
        conditions, any prospective relief shall automatically 
        terminate 2 years after the later of--
                    ``(A) the date the court found the violation of a 
                Federal right that was the basis for the relief; or
                    ``(B) the date of the enactment of the Stop Turning 
                Out Prisoners Act.
            ``(2) Immediate termination of prospective relief.--In any 
        civil action with respect to prison conditions, a defendant or 
        intervenor shall be entitled to the immediate termination of 
        any prospective relief, if that relief was approved or granted 
        in the absence of a finding by the court that prison conditions 
        violated a Federal right.
    ``(c) Procedure for Motions Affecting Prospective Relief.--
            ``(1) Generally.--The court shall promptly rule on any 
        motion to modify or terminate prospective relief in a civil 
        action with respect to prison conditions.
            ``(2) Automatic stay.--Any prospective relief subject to a 
        pending motion shall be automatically stayed during the 
        period--
                    ``(A) beginning on the 30th day after such motion 
                is filed, in the case of a motion made under subsection 
                (b); and
                    ``(B) beginning on the 180th day after such motion 
                is filed, in the case of a motion made under any other 
                law;
        and ending on the date the court enters a final order ruling on 
        that motion.
    ``(d) Standing.--Any Federal, State, or local official or unit of 
government--
            ``(1) whose jurisdiction or function includes the 
        prosecution or custody of persons in a prison subject to; or
            ``(2) who otherwise is or may be affected by;
any relief whose purpose or effect is to reduce or limit the prison 
population shall have standing to oppose the imposition or continuation 
in effect of that relief and may intervene in any proceeding relating 
to that relief. Standing shall be liberally conferred under this 
subsection so as to effectuate the remedial purposes of this section.
    ``(e) Special Masters.--In any civil action in a Federal court with 
respect to prison conditions, any special master or monitor shall be a 
United States magistrate and shall make proposed findings on the record 
on complicated factual issues submitted to that special master or 
monitor by the court, but shall have no other function. The parties may 
not by consent extend the function of a special master beyond that 
permitted under this subsection.
    ``(f) Attorney's Fees.--No attorney's fee under section 722 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1988) may be granted 
to a plaintiff in a civil action with respect to prison conditions 
except to the extent such fee is--
            ``(1) directly and reasonably incurred in proving an actual 
        violation of the plaintiff's federal rights; and
            ``(2) proportionally related to the extent the plaintiff 
        obtains court ordered relief for that violation.''.
    ``(g) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            ``(1) the term `prison' means any Federal, State, or local 
        facility that incarcerates or detains juveniles or adults 
        accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated 
        delinquent for, violations of criminal law;
            ``(2) the term `relief' means all relief in any form which 
        may be granted or approved by the court, and includes consent 
        decrees and settlement agreements; and
            ``(3) the term `prospective relief' means all relief other 
        than compensatory monetary damages.''
    (b) Application of Amendment.--Section 3626 of title 18, United 
States Code, as amended by this section, shall apply with respect to 
all relief (as defined in such section) whether such relief was 
originally granted or approved before, on, or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>