[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2334 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2334

To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to establish the Office 
  of the District Attorney for the District of Columbia, headed by a 
   locally elected and independent District Attorney, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2003

  Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to establish the Office 
  of the District Attorney for the District of Columbia, headed by a 
   locally elected and independent District Attorney, 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 ``District of Columbia District 
Attorney Establishment Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR THE 
              DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

    (a) In General.--Part F of title IV of the District of Columbia 
Home Rule Act (sec. 1-204.91 et seq., D.C. Official Code) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section:

     ``office of the district attorney for the district of columbia

    ``Sec. 496. (a) Creation.--There is hereby established the Office 
of the District Attorney for the District of Columbia (hereafter in 
this section referred to as the `Office'), to be headed by the District 
Attorney for the District of Columbia (hereafter in this section 
referred to as the `District Attorney').
    ``(b) General Powers and Duties.--The District Attorney shall be 
the chief legal officer for the District of Columbia, and in the 
performance of such duties shall--
            ``(1) prosecute the local criminal laws of the District of 
        Columbia, including violations committed by both adult and 
        juvenile offenders, and perform any related functions as 
        provided by local law in the District of Columbia; and
            ``(2) have the authority to perform civil enforcement and 
        other legal functions as provided by local law in the District 
        of Columbia.
    ``(c) General Qualifications.--
            ``(1) In general.--No individual may serve as District 
        Attorney unless the individual--
                    ``(A) is a qualified elector;
                    ``(B) is domiciled in the District;
                    ``(C) has resided and been domiciled in the 
                District for at least one year immediately preceding 
                the day on which the general or special election for 
                such office is to be held;
                    ``(D) holds no other public office for which he or 
                she is compensated in an amount in excess of his or her 
                actual expenses in connection therewith, except that 
                nothing in this clause shall prohibit any such 
                individual, while District Attorney, from serving as a 
                delegate or alternate delegate to a convention of a 
                political party nominating candidates for President and 
                Vice President of the United States, or from holding an 
                appointment in a Reserve component of an armed force of 
                the United States, other than a person serving on 
                active duty under a call for more than thirty days; and
                    ``(E) is admitted to the practice of law in the 
                District, is registered with the District of Columbia 
                Bar as an active practitioner, and has not been and is 
                currently not disbarred or suspended from practice in 
                any jurisdiction..
            ``(2) Restrictions on private practice.--The District 
        Attorney shall devote full time to the duties of the office and 
        shall not directly or indirectly engage in the private practice 
        of law.
            ``(3) Forfeiture of office.--The District Attorney shall 
        forfeit the office upon failure to maintain the qualifications 
        required by this subsection
    ``(d) Elections; Filling Vacancies; Initial Appointment.--
            ``(1) Elections.--The District Attorney shall be elected on 
        a partisan basis by the registered qualified electors of the 
        District. The term of office of the District Attorney shall be 
        four years, except as provided in paragraph (3), and shall 
        begin at noon on January 2 of the year following the election. 
        The District Attorney's term of office shall coincide with the 
        term of the Mayor. The first election for the District Attorney 
        shall take place in 2004.
            ``(2) Vacancies.--To fill a vacancy for the position of 
        District Attorney, the Board of Elections and Ethics shall hold 
        a special election in the District on the first Tuesday 
        occurring more than one hundred and fourteen days after the 
        date on which such vacancy occurs, unless the Board of 
        Elections and Ethics determines that such vacancy could be more 
        practically filled in a special election held on the same day 
        as the next general election to be held in the District 
        occurring within sixty days of the date on which a special 
        election would otherwise have been held under the provisions of 
        this subsection. The person shall take office on the day in 
        which the Board of Elections and Ethics certifies his or her 
        election and shall serve as District Attorney only for the 
        remainder of the term during which such vacancy occurred.
            ``(3) Initial appointment.--Not later than 30 days after 
        the date of the enactment of the District of Columbia District 
        Attorney Establishment Act of 2003, the Mayor, by resolution, 
        shall appoint a District Attorney who shall serve until 
        succeeded by an elected District Attorney. The proposed 
        resolution shall be submitted to the Council for a 30-day 
        period of review, excluding days of Council recess. If the 
        Council does not approve or disapprove the proposed resolution 
        within the 30-day review period, the resolution shall be deemed 
        approved.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections of part F of title 
IV of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item:

``Sec. 496. Office of the District Attorney for the District of 
                            Columbia.''.

SEC. 3. RESPONSIBILITY OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT OF 
              COLUMBIA FOR CONDUCT OF ALL PROSECUTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 23-101, D.C. Official Code, is amended by 
striking subsections (a) through (f) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Prosecutions for violations of all police or municipal 
ordinances or regulations of the District of Columbia and for 
violations of all penal statutes of the District of Columbia in the 
nature of police or municipal regulations shall be conducted in the 
name of the District of Columbia by the District Attorney for the 
District of Columbia or the District Attorney's assistants, except as 
may otherwise be provided in any such ordinance, regulation, or 
statute.
    ``(b) An indictment or information brought in the name of the 
United States in the United States District Court for the District of 
Columbia may include charges of offenses prosecutable by the District 
of Columbia if the District Attorney for the District of Columbia 
consents to the inclusion of such charges in writing.
    ``(c) An indictment or information brought in the name of the 
District of Columbia in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia 
may be joined for trial in the United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia with an indictment or information brought in that 
court if the offenses charged therein could have been joined in the 
same indictment or information and if the District Attorney for the 
District of Columbia consents to such joinder.
    ``(d) Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of the 
Attorney General of the United States or the United States Attorney for 
the District of Columbia to exercise jurisdiction concerning violations 
of the laws of the United States.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Appeals.--Section 23-104, D.C. Official Code, is 
        amended by striking ``Corporation Counsel'' each place it 
        appears in subsections (a)(1), (b), and (d), and inserting 
        ``District Attorney for the District of Columbia''.
            (2) Proceedings to establish previous convictions.--Section 
        23-111(a)(1), D.C. Official Code, is amended by striking 
        ``Corporation Counsel'' and inserting ``District Attorney for 
        the District of Columbia''.
            (3) Definition of prosecutor.--Section 23-501, D.C. 
        Official Code, is amended by striking ``Corporation Counsel of 
        the District of Columbia'' and inserting ``District Attorney 
        for the District of Columbia''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to violations of District of Columbia ordinances, 
regulations, and statutes which occur after the expiration of the 6-
month period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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