[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 400 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 400

  To provide for appropriate remedies for prison conditions, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            February 14 (legislative day, January 30), 1995

  Mrs. Hutchison (for herself and Mr. Gramm) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for appropriate remedies for prison conditions, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 conditions
    ``(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 the purpose or effect of which 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 the purpose or effect of which 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.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
subchapter C of chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ``crowding'' and inserting ``conditions''.
                                 <all>