[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2075 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2075

 To provide for expedited review of executive privilege claims and to 
       improve efficiency of independent counsel investigations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 13, 1998

 Mr. Ashcroft (for himself and Mr. McConnell) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for expedited review of executive privilege claims and to 
       improve efficiency of independent counsel investigations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO TITLE 28.

    Section 594 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(m) Judicial Review of Executive Privilege Claims.--
            ``(1) Expedited consideration.--It shall be the duty of a 
        district court of the United States and the Supreme Court of 
        the United States to advance on the docket and to expedite to 
        the maximum extent practicable the disposition of any claim 
        asserting executive privilege in any investigation authorized 
        pursuant to this chapter.
            ``(2) Appeal to supreme court.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, any order of a district court of the United 
        States disposing of a claim asserting executive privilege in 
        any investigation authorized pursuant to this chapter shall be 
        reviewable by appeal directly to the Supreme Court of the 
        United States. Any such appeal shall be taken by a notice of 
        appeal filed within 10 calendar days after such order is 
        entered and the jurisdictional statement shall be filed within 
        30 calendar days after such order is entered. No stay of an 
        order described in this subsection shall be issued by a single 
        Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.''.

SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Section 594(m) of title 28, United States Code (as added by section 
1 of this Act), applies to any claim of executive privilege asserted on 
or after January 1, 1998, except that, for purposes of an order 
described in section 594(m)(1) of title 28, United States Code (as 
added by section 1 of this Act), entered before the date of enactment 
of this Act, the time periods for appeal provided in section 594(m)(2) 
of that title 28, United States Code (as added by section 1 of this 
Act), shall begin running on the date of enactment of this Act.
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