[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6518 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6518

  To increase public confidence in the justice system and address any 
   unwarranted racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2008

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To increase public confidence in the justice system and address any 
   unwarranted racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process.

    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 ``Justice Integrity Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the pursuit of justice requires the fair application of 
        the law;
            (2) racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process 
        have contributed to a growing perception of bias in the 
        criminal justice system;
            (3) there are a variety of possible causes of disparities 
        in criminal justice statistics among racial and ethnic groups 
        and these causes may differ throughout the United States, 
        including factors such as--
                    (A) varying levels of criminal activity among 
                racial and ethnic groups and legitimate law enforcement 
                response to that criminal activity; and
                    (B) racial discrimination, ethnic and cultural 
                insensitivity, or unconscious bias;
            (4) the Nation would benefit from an understanding of all 
        factors causing a disparate impact on the criminal justice 
        system; and
            (5) programs that promote fairness will increase public 
        confidence in the criminal justice system, increase public 
        safety, and further the pursuit of justice.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a pilot program in 10 
United States districts in order to promote fairness, and the 
perception of fairness, in the Federal criminal justice system, and to 
determine whether legislation is required.
    (b) Program Requirements.--
            (1) U.S. attorneys.--The Attorney General shall designate, 
        in accordance with paragraph (3), 10 United States Attorneys 
        who shall each implement a plan in accordance with section 4, 
        beginning not later than 1 month after those United States 
        Attorneys are designated by the Attorney General.
            (2) Purpose.--The purposes of the plans required by this 
        section are--
                    (A) to gather racial and ethnic data on 
                investigations and prosecutions in the United States 
                districts and the causes of disparities, if any;
                    (B) to determine the extent to which the 
                communities' perception of bias has affected confidence 
                in the Federal criminal justice system;
                    (C) to analyze whether measures may be taken to 
                reduce unwarranted disparities, if any, and increase 
                confidence in the criminal justice system; and
                    (D) to make recommendations, to the extent 
                possible, to ensure that law enforcement priorities and 
                initiatives, charging and plea bargaining decisions, 
                sentencing recommendations, and other steps within the 
                criminal process are not influenced by racial and 
                ethnic stereotyping or bias, and do not produce 
                unwarranted disparities from otherwise neutral laws or 
                policies.
            (3) Criteria for selection.--
                    (A) In general.--The 10 pilot districts referred to 
                in subsection (a) shall include districts of varying 
                compositions with respect to size, case load, 
                geography, and racial and ethnic composition.
                    (B) Metropolitan areas.--At least 3 of the United 
                States Attorneys designated by the Attorney General 
                shall be in Federal districts encompassing metropolitan 
                areas.

SEC. 4. PLAN AND REPORT.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) United states attorney.--Each United States Attorney 
        shall, in consultation with an advisory group appointed in 
        accordance with paragraph (2), develop and implement a plan in 
        accordance with subsections (b) and (c).
            (2) Advisory group.--
                    (A) Appointment.--Not later than 90 days after 
                designation by the Attorney General, the United States 
                Attorney in each of the 10 pilot districts selected 
                pursuant to section 3 shall appoint an advisory group, 
                after consultation with the chief judge of the district 
                and criminal justice professionals within the district.
                    (B) Membership.--The advisory group of a United 
                States Attorney shall include--
                            (i) 1 or more senior social scientists with 
                        expertise in research methods or statistics; 
                        and
                            (ii) individuals and entities who play 
                        important roles in the criminal justice process 
                        and have broad-based community representation 
                        such as--
                                    (I) Federal and State prosecutors;
                                    (II) Federal and State defenders, 
                                if applicable in the district, and 
                                private defense counsel;
                                    (III) Federal and State judges;
                                    (IV) Federal and State law 
                                enforcement officials and union 
                                representatives;
                                    (V) parole and probation officers;
                                    (VI) correctional officers;
                                    (VII) victim's rights 
                                representatives;
                                    (VIII) civil rights organizations;
                                    (IX) business and professional 
                                representatives; and
                                    (X) faith-based organizations who 
                                do criminal justice work.
                    (C) Term limit.--Subject to subparagraph (D), a 
                member of the advisory group shall not serve longer 
                than 5 years.
                    (D) Permanent members.--Notwithstanding 
                subparagraph (C), the following shall be permanent 
                members of the advisory group for that district:
                            (i) The chief judge for the judicial 
                        district.
                            (ii) The Federal defender for the judicial 
                        district.
                            (iii) The United States Attorney for the 
                        judicial district.
                    (E) Reporter.--The United States Attorney may 
                designate a reporter for each advisory group, who may 
                be compensated in accordance with guidelines 
                established by the Executive Office of the United 
                States Attorneys.
                    (F) Independent contractors.--The members of an 
                advisory group of a United States Attorney and any 
                person designated as a reporter for such group--
                            (i) shall be considered independent 
                        contractors of the United States Attorney's 
                        Office when in the performance of official 
                        duties of the advisory group; and
                            (ii) may not, solely by reason of service 
                        on or for the advisory group, be prohibited 
                        from practicing law before any court.
    (b) Development and Implementation of a Plan and Report.--
            (1) Advisory group report.--The advisory group appointed 
        under subsection (a)(2) shall--
                    (A)(i) systematically collect and analyze 
                quantitative data on the race and ethnicity of the 
                defendant and victim at each stage of prosecution, 
                including case intake, bail requests, declinations, 
                selection of charges, diversion from prosecution or 
                incarceration, plea offers, sentencing recommendations, 
                fast-track sentencing, and use of alternative 
                sanctions; and
                    (ii) at a minimum, collect aggregate data capable 
                of individualization and tracking through the system so 
                that any cumulative racial or ethnic disadvantage can 
                be analyzed;
                    (B) seek to determine the causes of racial and 
                ethnic disparities in a district, and whether these 
                disparities are substantially explained by sound law 
                enforcement policies or if they are at least partially 
                attributable to discrimination, insensitivity, or 
                unconscious bias;
                    (C) examine the extent to which racial and ethnic 
                disparities are attributable to--
                            (i) law enforcement priorities, 
                        prosecutorial priorities, the substantive 
                        provisions of legislation enacted by Congress; 
                        or
                            (ii) the penalty schemes enacted by 
                        Congress or implemented by the United States 
                        Sentencing Commission;
                    (D) examine data including--
                            (i) the racial and ethnic demographics of 
                        the United States Attorney's district;
                            (ii) defendants charged in all categories 
                        of offense by race and ethnicity, and, where 
                        applicable, the race and ethnicity of any 
                        identified victim;
                            (iii) substantial assistance motions, 
                        whether at sentencing or post-conviction, by 
                        race and ethnicity;
                            (iv) charging policies, including decisions 
                        as to who should be charged in Federal rather 
                        than State court when either forum is 
                        available, and whether these policies tend to 
                        result in racial or ethnic disparities among 
                        defendants charged in Federal court, including 
                        whether relative disparities exist between 
                        State and Federal defendants charged with 
                        similar offenses;
                            (v) the racial and ethnic composition of 
                        the Federal prosecutors in the district; and
                            (vi) the extent to which training in the 
                        exercise of discretion, including cultural 
                        competency, is provided prosecutors;
                    (E) consult with an educational or independent 
                research group, if necessary, to conduct work under 
                this subsection; and
                    (F) submit to the United States Attorney by the end 
                of the second year after their initial appointment a 
                report and proposed plan, which shall be made available 
                to the public and which shall include--
                            (i) factual findings and conclusions on 
                        racial and ethnic disparities, if any, and the 
                        State of public confidence in the criminal 
                        process;
                            (ii) recommended measures, rules, and 
                        programs for reducing unjustified disparities, 
                        if any, and increasing public confidence; and
                            (iii) an explanation of the manner in which 
                        the recommended plan complies with this 
                        paragraph.
            (2) Adoption of plan.--Not later than 60 days after 
        receiving and considering the advisory group's report and 
        proposed plan under paragraph (1), the United States Attorney 
        appointed under section 3 shall adopt and implement a plan.
            (3) Copy of report.--The United States Attorney shall 
        transmit a copy of the plan and report adopted and implemented, 
        in accordance with this subsection, together with the report 
        and plan recommended by the advisory group, to the Attorney 
        General. The United States Attorney shall include with the plan 
        an explanation of any recommendation of the advisory group that 
        is not included in the plan.
            (4) Congress.--The Attorney General shall transmit to the 
        United States Attorney's in every Federal district and to the 
        Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of 
        Representatives copies of any plan and accompanying report 
        submitted by a pilot district.
    (c) Periodic United States Attorney Assessment.--After adopting and 
implementing a plan under subsection (b), each United States Attorney 
in a pilot district shall annually evaluate the efficacy of the plan. 
In performing such assessment, the United States Attorney shall consult 
with the advisory group appointed in accordance with subsection (a)(2). 
Each assessment shall be submitted to the Executive Office for United 
States Attorneys for review in accordance with subsection (d).
    (d) Information on the Pilot Program.--
            (1) Report and model plan.--Not later than 5 years after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
        shall--
                    (A) prepare a comprehensive report on all plans 
                received pursuant to this section;
                    (B) based on all the plans received pursuant to 
                this section the Attorney General shall also develop 
                one or more model plans; and
                    (C) transmit copies of the report and model plan or 
                plans to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate 
                and the House of Representatives.
            (2) Continued oversight.--The Attorney General shall, on a 
        continuing basis--
                    (A) study ways to reduce unwarranted racial and 
                ethnic disparate impact in the Federal criminal system; 
                and
                    (B) make recommendations to all United States 
                Attorneys on ways to improve the system.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for use, at the 
discretion of the Attorney General, by the United States Attorneys' 
advisory groups in the development and implementation of plans under 
this Act.
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