[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3926 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3926

    To provide that a person closely related to a judge of a court 
   exercising judicial power under article III of the United States 
 Constitution (other than the Supreme Court) may not be appointed as a 
            judge of the same court, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 1998

   Ms. Dunn introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide that a person closely related to a judge of a court 
   exercising judicial power under article III of the United States 
 Constitution (other than the Supreme Court) may not be appointed as a 
            judge of the same court, 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. LIMITATION ON CLOSELY RELATED PERSONS SERVING AS FEDERAL 
              JUDGES ON THE SAME COURT.

    (a) In General.--Section 458 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)(1)'' before ``No person''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) With respect to the appointment of a judge of a court 
exercising judicial power under article III of the United States 
Constitution (other than the Supreme Court), subsection (b) shall apply 
in lieu of this subsection.
    ``(b)(1) In this subsection, the term--
            ``(A) `same court' means--
                    ``(i) in the case of a district court, the court of 
                a single judicial district; and
                    ``(ii) in the case of a court of appeals, the court 
                of appeals of a single circuit; and
            ``(B) `member'--
                    ``(i) means an active judge or a judge retired in 
                senior status under section 371(b); and
                    ``(ii) shall not include a retired judge, except as 
                described under clause (i).
    ``(2) No person may be appointed to the position of judge of a 
court exercising judicial power under article III of the United States 
Constitution (other than the Supreme Court) who is related by affinity 
or consanguinity within the degree of first cousin to any judge who is 
a member of the same court.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act and shall apply only to any individual whose 
nomination is submitted to the Senate on or after such date.
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