[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3589 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3589

 To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide an additional place 
             of holding court for the District of Arizona.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2005

  Mr. Renzi introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide an additional place 
             of holding court for the District of Arizona.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) It is necessary for the United States District Court 
        for the District of Arizona to hold court in Flagstaff, 
        Arizona, in order to serve the citizens of northern Arizona.
            (2) Since October 2001, there have been nearly 600 felony 
        cases arising in northern Arizona. Victims, witnesses, police 
        officers, Federal agents, friends, experts, evidence 
        custodians, and support personnel have had to travel hundreds 
        of miles to Phoenix or Prescott for grand jury, pretrial, 
        change of plea, and sentencing hearings.
            (3) Holding court in Flagstaff would serve 12 Indian 
        reservations in northern Arizona, including the Navajo Nation, 
        which is the size of West Virginia. The murder rate there is 6 
        times the national average.
            (4) Holding court in Flagstaff would be critical to the 
        presence of the National Park Service in northern Arizona. For 
        example, the Grand Canyon is located only 1 to 2 hours from 
        Flagstaff, while Phoenix is as much as 6 hours away.
            (5) Changes in the Indian Self-Determination Act extended 
        Federal Tort Claims Act coverage to tribal organizations, which 
        has led to increased Federal civil actions arising in northern 
        Arizona. Holding court in Flagstaff would provide a convenient 
        forum for these cases.
            (6) There is infrastructure in place in Flagstaff for a 
        Federal courthouse. Construction and other start-up costs would 
        be minimal.
            (7) General demographics alone dictate a need for the 
        citizens of northern Arizona to have equal justice. The 5 
        northern Arizona counties encompass a vast area of 340 miles 
        east to west, and 200 miles north to south.
            (8) More than 650,000 people live in northern Arizona.
            (9) Northern Arizona accounts for 40 percent of all crimes 
        committed on Indian tribal land nationwide.
            (10) Flagstaff is presently home to 9 Federal law 
        enforcement agencies: the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
        Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, 
        Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Forest Service, the 
        Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and 
        the U.S. Park Service.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PLACE OF HOLDING COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA.

    Section 82 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
``Flagstaff,'' after ``held at''.
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