[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1634 Considered and Passed Senate (CPS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1634

  To allow United States courts to conduct business during emergency 
                  conditions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 8, 2005

Mr. Frist (for Mr. Vitter) (for himself, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Specter, Mr. 
Leahy, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Lott, Mr. Sessions, Mr. 
 Grassley, and Mr. Kyl) introduced the following bill; which was read 
           twice, considered, read the third time, and passed

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To allow United States courts to conduct business during emergency 
                  conditions, 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.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Judiciary 
Emergency Special Sessions Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT COURT PROCEEDINGS OUTSIDE THE 
              TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF THE COURT.

    (a) Circuit Courts.--Section 48 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Each court of appeals may hold special sessions at any place 
within the United States outside the circuit as the nature of the 
business may require and upon such notice as the court orders, upon a 
finding by either the chief judge of the court of appeals (or, if the 
chief judge is unavailable, the most senior available active judge of 
the court of appeals) or the judicial council of the circuit that, 
because of emergency conditions, no location within the circuit is 
reasonably available where such special sessions could be held. The 
court may transact any business at a special session outside the 
circuit which it might transact at a regular session.
    ``(f) If a court of appeals issues an order exercising its 
authority under subsection (e), the court--
            ``(1) through the Administrative Office of the United 
        States Courts, shall--
                    ``(A) send notice of such order, including the 
                reasons for the issuance of such order, to the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    ``(B) not later than 180 days after the expiration 
                of such court order submit a brief report to the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives describing the impact of such order, 
                including--
                            ``(i) the reasons for the issuance of such 
                        order;
                            ``(ii) the duration of such order;
                            ``(iii) the impact of such order on 
                        litigants; and
                            ``(iv) the costs to the judiciary resulting 
                        from such order; and
            ``(2) shall provide reasonable notice to the United States 
        Marshals Service before the commencement of any special session 
        held pursuant to such order.''.
    (b) District Courts.--Section 141 of title 28, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)(1)'' before ``Special'';
            (2) by inserting ``(2)'' before ``Any''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b)(1) Special sessions of the district court may be held at such 
places within the United States outside the district as the nature of 
the business may require and upon such notice as the court orders, upon 
a finding by either the chief judge of the district court (or, if the 
chief judge is unavailable, the most senior available active judge of 
the district court) or the judicial council of the circuit that, 
because of emergency conditions, no location within the district is 
reasonably available where such special sessions could be held.
    ``(2) Pursuant to this subsection, any business which may be 
transacted at a regular session of a district court may be transacted 
at a special session conducted outside the district, except that a 
criminal trial may not be conducted at a special session outside of the 
State in which the crime has been committed unless the defendant 
consents to such a criminal trial.
    ``(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any case in 
which a special session is conducted pursuant to this subsection, the 
district court may summon jurors--
            ``(A) in civil proceedings, from any part of the district 
        in which the court ordinarily conducts business or the district 
        in which the court is holding a special session; and
            ``(B) in criminal trials, from any part of the district in 
        which the crime has been committed and, if a defendant so 
        consents, from any district in which the court is conducting 
        business pursuant to this subsection.
    ``(4) If a district court issues an order exercising its authority 
under paragraph (1), the court--
            ``(A) through the Administrative Office of the United 
        States Courts, shall--
                    ``(i) send notice of such order, including the 
                reasons for the issuance of such order, to the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    ``(ii) not later than 180 days after the expiration 
                of such court order submit a brief report to the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives describing the impact of such order, 
                including--
                            ``(I) the reasons for the issuance of such 
                        order;
                            ``(II) the duration of such order;
                            ``(III) the impact of such order on 
                        litigants; and
                            ``(IV) the costs to the judiciary resulting 
                        from such order; and
            ``(B) shall provide reasonable notice to the United States 
        Marshals Service before the commencement of any special session 
        held pursuant to such order.''.
    (c) Bankruptcy Courts.--Section 152(c) of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(c)'';
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2)(A) Bankruptcy judges may hold court at such places 
        within the United States outside the judicial district as the 
        nature of the business of the court may require, and upon such 
        notice as the court orders, upon a finding by either the chief 
        judge of the bankruptcy court (or, if the chief judge is 
        unavailable, the most senior available bankruptcy judge) or by 
        the judicial council of the circuit that, because of emergency 
        conditions, no location within the district is reasonably 
        available where the bankruptcy judges could hold court.
            ``(B) Bankruptcy judges may transact any business at 
        special sessions of court held outside the district pursuant to 
        this paragraph that might be transacted at a regular session.
            ``(C) If a bankruptcy court issues an order exercising its 
        authority under subparagraph (A), the court--
                    ``(i) through the Administrative Office of the 
                United States Courts, shall--
                            ``(I) send notice of such order, including 
                        the reasons for the issuance of such order, to 
                        the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
                        and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
                        of Representatives; and
                            ``(II) not later than 180 days after the 
                        expiration of such court order submit a brief 
                        report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                        Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of 
                        the House of Representatives describing the 
                        impact of such order, including--
                                    ``(aa) the reasons for the issuance 
                                of such order;
                                    ``(bb) the duration of such order;
                                    ``(cc) the impact of such order on 
                                litigants; and
                                    ``(dd) the costs to the judiciary 
                                resulting from such order; and
                    ``(ii) shall provide reasonable notice to the 
                United States Marshals Service before the commencement 
                of any special session held pursuant to such order.''.
    (d) United States Magistrate Judges.--Section 636 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended in subsection (a) by striking 
``territorial jurisdiction prescribed by his appointment--'' and 
inserting ``district in which sessions are held by the court that 
appointed the magistrate judge, at other places where that court may 
function, and elsewhere as authorized by law--''.
                                 <all>