1.This Act may be cited as the
Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights
Crime Act
.
2.It is the sense of
Congress that all authorities with jurisdiction, including the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and other entities within the Department of Justice,
should—
(1)expeditiously
investigate unsolved civil rights murders, due to the amount of time that has
passed since the murders and the age of potential witnesses; and
(2)provide all the
resources necessary to ensure timely and thorough investigations in the cases
involved.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term Chief Investigator means the
Chief Investigator of the Unit.
(2)Criminal civil
rights statutesThe term criminal civil rights
statutes means—
(A)section 241 of
title 18, United States Code (relating to conspiracy against rights);
(B)section 242 of
title 18, United States Code (relating to deprivation of rights under color of
law);
(C)section 245 of
title 18, United States Code (relating to federally protected
activities);
(D)sections 1581 and
1584 of title 18, United States Code (relating to involuntary servitude and
peonage);
(E)section 901 of the
Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3631);
and
(F)any other Federal
law that—
(i)was in effect on
or before December 31, 1969; and
(ii)the Criminal
Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice enforced,
prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
(3)The
term Office means the Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Investigative
Office established under section 5.
(4)The
term Deputy means the Deputy for the Unsolved Civil Rights Era
Crimes Unit.
(5)The
term Unit (except when used as part of the term Criminal
Section) means the Unsolved Civil Rights Era Crimes Unit established
under section 4.
4.Establishment of
Section in civil rights division
(a)There is established in the Criminal Section of the Civil
Rights Division of the Department of Justice an Unsolved Civil Rights Era
Crimes Unit. The Unit shall be headed by a Deputy for the Unsolved Civil Rights
Era Crimes Unit.
(b)
(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal law, and
except as provided in section 5, the Deputy shall be responsible for
investigating and prosecuting violations of criminal civil rights statutes, in
cases in which a complaint alleges that such a violation—
(A)occurred not later
than December 31, 1969; and
(B)resulted in a
death.
(2)
(A)In investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the
Deputy shall coordinate investigative activities with State and local law
enforcement officials.
(B)After
investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), or receiving a report of an
investigation conducted under section 5, if the Deputy determines that an
alleged practice that is a violation of a criminal civil rights statute
occurred in a State, or political subdivision of a State, that has a State or
local law prohibiting the practice alleged and establishing or authorizing a
State or local law enforcement official to grant or seek relief from such
practice or to institute criminal proceedings with respect to the practice on
receiving notice of the practice, the Deputy shall consult with the official
regarding the appropriate venue for the case involved.
(3)After
investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), or receiving a report of an
investigation conducted under section 5, the Deputy shall refer the complaint
to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, if the Deputy determines
that the subject of the complaint has violated a criminal civil rights statute
in the case involved but the violation does not meet the requirements of
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1).
(c)
(1)The
Deputy shall annually conduct a study of the cases under the jurisdiction of
the Deputy or under the jurisdiction of the Chief Investigator and, in
conducting the study, shall determine the cases—
(A)for which the
Deputy has sufficient evidence to prosecute violations of criminal civil rights
statutes; and
(B)for which the
Deputy has insufficient evidence to prosecute those violations.
(2)Not
later than September 30 of 2007 and of each subsequent year, the Deputy shall
prepare and submit to Congress a report containing the results of the study
conducted under paragraph (1), including a description of the cases described
in paragraph (1)(B).
5.Establishment of
Office in Federal Bureau of Investigation
(a)There is established in the Civil Rights Unit of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice an Unsolved Civil
Rights Crime Investigative Office. The Office shall be headed by a Deputy
Investigator.
(b)
(1)In accordance with an agreement established between the
Deputy Investigator and the Deputy, the Deputy Investigator shall be
responsible for investigating violations of criminal civil rights statutes, in
cases described in section 4(b).
(2)
(A)In investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the
Deputy Investigator shall coordinate the investigative activities with State
and local law enforcement officials.
(B)After
investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the Deputy Investigator
shall—
(i)determine whether
the subject of the complaint has violated a criminal rights statute in the case
involved; and
(ii)refer the
complaint to the Deputy, together with a report containing the determination
and the results of the investigation.
(C)The
Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with the Department of
Justice, Civil Rights Division, shall have discretion to re-allocate
investigative personnel to jurisdictions to carry out the goals of this
section.
6.Authorization of
appropriations
(a)There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
Act $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each subsequent fiscal year through
2017. These funds shall be allocated by the Attorney General to the Unsolved
Civil Rights Era Crime Unit of the Department of Justice and the Civil Rights
Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to advance the purposes
set forth in this Act.
(b)Additional
appropriationsAny funds appropriated under this section shall
consist of additional appropriations for the activities described in this Act,
rather than funds made available through reductions in the appropriations
authorized for other enforcement activities of the Department of
Justice.
(c)Community
Relations Service of the Department of JusticeIn addition to any amounts authorized to be
appropriated under title XI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.), there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice
$1,500,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each subsequent fiscal year, to enable the
Service (in carrying out the functions described in title X of such Act (42
U.S.C. 2000g et seq.)) to provide technical assistance by bringing together law
enforcement agencies and communities in the investigation of violations of
criminal civil rights statutes, in cases described in section 4(b).
7.Sections 1 through 6 of this Act shall
expire at the end of fiscal year 2017.
8.Authority of
Inspectors GeneralTitle
XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5779 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
3703.Authority of
Inspectors General
(a)An Inspector General
appointed under section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.) may authorize staff to assist the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children—
(1)by conducting
reviews of inactive case files to develop recommendations for further
investigations; and
(2)by engaging in
similar activities.
(b)
(1)An
Inspector General may not permit staff to engage in activities described in
subsection (a) if such activities will interfere with the duties of the
Inspector General under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.).
(2)No
additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section.
.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights
Crime Act
.
2.It is the sense of
Congress that all authorities with jurisdiction, including the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and other entities within the Department of Justice,
should—
(1)expeditiously investigate
unsolved civil rights murders, due to the amount of time that has passed since
the murders and the age of potential witnesses; and
(2)provide all the resources
necessary to ensure timely and thorough investigations in the cases
involved.
3.Deputy Chief in the
Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division
(a)The Attorney General shall designate a Deputy Chief in
the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of
Justice.
(b)
(1)The Deputy Chief shall be responsible for investigating,
prosecuting, and coordinating the investigation and prosecution of violations
of criminal civil rights statutes, in cases in which a complaint alleges that
such a violation occurred not later than December 31, 1969, and resulted in a
death.
(2)In
investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the Deputy Chief may coordinate
investigative activities with State and local law enforcement officials.
(c)
(1)The
Attorney General shall annually conduct a study of the cases under the
jurisdiction of the Deputy Chief or under the jurisdiction of the Supervisory
Special Agent described in section 4 and, in conducting the study, shall
determine—
(A)the number of open
investigations within the Department of Justice of violations of criminal civil
rights statutes described in subsection (b)(1);
(B)the number of cases
described in subsection (b)(1)—
(i)for the first study under
this subsection, that were opened pursuant to this Act since the date of
enactment of this Act; and
(ii)for each subsequent
study, that were opened pursuant to this Act since the previous study under
this subsection;
(C)the number of unsealed
Federal cases involving such violations for which charges were filed within the
study period, and the case names, the jurisdictions in which the charges were
filed, and the dates the charges were filed;
(D)(i)the number of cases
involving such violations that were referred by the Department of Justice to a
State or local law enforcement agency or prosecutor within the study period,
the number of such cases that resulted in State or local charges being filed,
the jurisdictions in which the charges were filed, and the dates the charges
were filed; and
(ii)the case names for any
unsealed Federal cases in which actions by State and local law enforcement
officials have left demonstratively unvindicated the Federal interest in the
investigation and prosecution of incidents relating to criminal civil rights
statutes, and the reasons for any related decisions by Federal officials not to
coordinate investigation and prosecution with the State and local
officials;
(E)the number of cases
involving such violations that were closed within the study period without
Federal prosecution, the case names of such cases that were unsealed Federal
cases, the dates the cases described in this subparagraph were closed, and the
relevant Federal statutes;
(F)the number of attorneys
who worked, in whole or in part, on any case described in subsection (b)(1);
and
(G)the number of
applications submitted for grants under section 5, the number of awards of such
grants, and the purposes for which the grant amounts were expended.
(2)Not
later than the day that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
and that day of each year thereafter, the Attorney General shall prepare and
submit to Congress a report containing the results of the study conducted under
paragraph (1).
4.Supervisory special
agent in the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(a)The Attorney General shall designate a Supervisory
Special Agent in the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
of the Department of Justice.
(b)
(1)The Supervisory Special Agent shall be responsible for
investigating violations of criminal civil rights statutes, in cases described
in section 3(b)(1).
(2)In
investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the Supervisory Special Agent
may coordinate the investigative activities with State and local law
enforcement officials.
5.Grants to State and
local law enforcement
(a)The Attorney General may award grants to State or local
law enforcement agencies for expenses associated with the investigation and
prosecution of violations of State or local laws that are similar to the
Federal criminal civil rights statutes.
(b)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017.
6.Authorization of
appropriations
(a)There is authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney
General, for the purpose of carrying out the activities described in sections 3
and 4, in addition to any other another amounts authorized to be appropriated
for that purpose, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017. The
Attorney General shall allocate funds described in this subsection to the
Deputy Chief described in section 3 and the Supervisory Special Agent described
in section 4 to advance that purpose.
(b)Community Relations
Service of the Department of JusticeIn addition to any amounts authorized to be
appropriated under title XI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.), there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice
$1,500,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each subsequent fiscal year, to enable the
Service (in carrying out the functions described in title X of such Act (42
U.S.C. 2000g et seq.)) to provide technical assistance by bringing together law
enforcement agencies and communities in the investigation of violations of
criminal civil rights statutes, in cases described in section 3(b)(1).
7.In this Act, the term criminal civil
rights statutes means—
(1)section 241 of title 18,
United States Code (relating to conspiracy against rights);
(2)section 242 of title 18,
United States Code (relating to deprivation of rights under color of
law);
(3)section 245 of title 18,
United States Code (relating to federally protected activities);
(4)sections 1581 and 1584 of
title 18, United States Code (relating to involuntary servitude and
peonage);
(5)section 901 of the
Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3631);
and
(6)any other Federal law
that—
(A)was in effect on or
before December 31, 1969; and
(B)the Criminal Section of
the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice enforced, prior to the
date of enactment of this Act.
8.Sections 2 through 7 of this Act shall
expire at the end of fiscal year 2017.
9.Authority of Inspectors
GeneralTitle XXXVII of the
Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5779 et seq.) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
3703.Authority of
Inspectors General
(a)An Inspector General
appointed under section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.) may authorize staff to assist the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children—
(1)by conducting reviews of
inactive case files to develop recommendations for further investigations;
and
(2)by engaging in similar
activities.
(b)
(1)An
Inspector General may not permit staff to engage in activities described in
subsection (a) if such activities will interfere with the duties of the
Inspector General under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.).
(2)No
additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section.
.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to provide for the investigation of certain unsolved civil rights
crimes, and for other purposes.
.
June 20, 2007
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the
title