[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2311 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2311

   To amend section 201 of title 18, United States Code, to increase 
 prosecutorial effectiveness and enhance public safety, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 15, 1998

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend section 201 of title 18, United States Code, to increase 
 prosecutorial effectiveness and enhance public safety, 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 ``Effective Prosecution and Public 
Safety Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) There is no evidence in legislative history or 
        otherwise that Congress intended for section 201 of title 18, 
        United States Code, to make illegal the traditional 
        prosecutorial practice of recommending leniency or other 
        favorable action towards a defendant in exchange for truthful 
        testimony or other cooperation with the prosecution of another 
        defendant.
            (2) Section 201 of title 18, United States Code, was 
        enacted in 1962 and, for over 35 years, no Federal court 
        interpreted that section to conflict with this essential tool 
        of law enforcement.
            (3) The United States Supreme Court in numerous decisions 
        since 1962, including Giglio v. United States, has reviewed and 
        implicitly approved this practice.
            (4) On July 1, 1998, a panel of the Circuit Court of the 
        United States for the Tenth Circuit ruled, in the case of 
        United States v. Singleton, that the language of section 201(c) 
        of title 18, United States Code, holding criminally liable 
        anyone who ``directly or indirectly, gives, offers or promises 
        anything of value to any person, for or because of the 
        testimony under oath or affirmation given or to be given by 
        such person as a witness upon a trial, hearing, or other 
        proceeding,'' forbids a prosecutor from promising leniency to a 
        cooperating witness in exchange for testimony, and further 
        ruled that the prosecution of a crack cocaine distributor be 
        thrown out and the case remanded.
            (5) Following the July 1, 1998 panel ruling, the Circuit 
        Court of the United States for the Tenth Circuit stayed the 
        panel decision and ordered an en banc hearing.
            (6) Regardless of the eventual ruling of the Circuit Court 
        of the United States for the Tenth Circuit on this issue, 
        unless there is Federal legislation or a definitive United 
        States Supreme Court decision on this issue, it is likely that 
        accused and convicted criminals across the Nation will continue 
        to challenge criminal charges and convictions based on the 
        reasoning in the panel decision, increasing the likelihood that 
        dangerous criminals will be released and prosecutors will be 
        discouraged from reasonably exercising their discretion.

SEC. 3. PROSECUTORIAL EFFECTIVENESS AND PUBLIC SAFETY.

    (a) In General.--Section 201(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(d)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) Paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c) shall not be 
construed to apply to any otherwise lawful giving, promising, or 
offering by a prosecutor of leniency, witness protection, or any other 
thing of value within the reasonable exercise of prosecutorial 
discretion, in exchange for the testimony of any person, including 
any--
            ``(A) offer or grant of immunity from prosecution;
            ``(B) offer to advise a court or parole board of the extent 
        of the cooperation by the person with the prosecutor, or any 
        advice so given; or
            ``(C) plea bargain agreement.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as if included in the amendments made by the Criminal Law and 
Procedure Technical Amendments Act of 1986.

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
nothing in section 201 of title 18, United States Code, or any other 
provision of law, shall be construed to prohibit any otherwise lawful 
giving, promising, or offering by a prosecutor of leniency, witness 
protection, or any other thing of value within the reasonable exercise 
of prosecutorial discretion, in exchange for the testimony of any 
person, including any--
            (1) offer or grant of immunity from prosecution;
            (2) offer to advise a court or parole board of the extent 
        of the cooperation by the person with the prosecutor, or any 
        advice so given; or
            (3) plea bargain agreement.
    (b) Effective Date.--This section shall be construed to have taken 
effect on October 23, 1962.
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