[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1289 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1289

                      One Hundred Eleventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
             the sixth day of January, two thousand and nine


                                 An Act


 
             To improve title 18 of the United States Code.

    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 ``Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency 
Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO TITLE 18.
    Title 18 of the United States Code is amended--
        (1) in section 2703--
            (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``by a court with 
        jurisdiction over the offense under investigation or an 
        equivalent State warrant'' and inserting ``(or, in the case of 
        a State court, issued using State warrant procedures) by a 
        court of competent jurisdiction'';
            (B) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ``by a court with 
        jurisdiction over the offense under investigation or an 
        equivalent State warrant'' and inserting ``(or, in the case of 
        a State court, issued using State warrant procedures) by a 
        court of competent jurisdiction''; and
            (C) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking ``by a court with 
        jurisdiction over the offense under investigation or an 
        equivalent State warrant'' and inserting ``(or, in the case of 
        a State court, issued using State warrant procedures) by a 
        court of competent jurisdiction'';
        (2) in section 2711(3), by striking ``has the meaning assigned 
    by section 3127, and includes any Federal court within that 
    definition, without geographic limitation; and'' and inserting the 
    following: ``includes--
            ``(A) any district court of the United States (including a 
        magistrate judge of such a court) or any United States court of 
        appeals that--
                ``(i) has jurisdiction over the offense being 
            investigated;
                ``(ii) is in or for a district in which the provider of 
            a wire or electronic communication service is located or in 
            which the wire or electronic communications, records, or 
            other information are stored; or
                ``(iii) is acting on a request for foreign assistance 
            pursuant to section 3512 of this title; or
            ``(B) a court of general criminal jurisdiction of a State 
        authorized by the law of that State to issue search warrants; 
        and'';
        (3) in section 3127(2)(A), by striking ``having jurisdiction 
    over the offense being investigated;'' and inserting the following: 
    ``that--
                ``(i) has jurisdiction over the offense being 
            investigated;
                ``(ii) is in or for a district in which the provider of 
            a wire or electronic communication service is located;
                ``(iii) is in or for a district in which a landlord, 
            custodian, or other person subject to subsections (a) or 
            (b) of section 3124 of this title is located; or
                ``(iv) is acting on a request for foreign assistance 
            pursuant to section 3512 of this title;'';
        (4) in chapter 223, by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3512. Foreign requests for assistance in criminal investigations 
    and prosecutions
    ``(a) Execution of Request for Assistance.--
        ``(1) In general.--Upon application, duly authorized by an 
    appropriate official of the Department of Justice, of an attorney 
    for the Government, a Federal judge may issue such orders as may be 
    necessary to execute a request from a foreign authority for 
    assistance in the investigation or prosecution of criminal 
    offenses, or in proceedings related to the prosecution of criminal 
    offenses, including proceedings regarding forfeiture, sentencing, 
    and restitution.
        ``(2) Scope of orders.--Any order issued by a Federal judge 
    pursuant to paragraph (1) may include the issuance of--
            ``(A) a search warrant, as provided under Rule 41 of the 
        Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure;
            ``(B) a warrant or order for contents of stored wire or 
        electronic communications or for records related thereto, as 
        provided under section 2703 of this title;
            ``(C) an order for a pen register or trap and trace device 
        as provided under section 3123 of this title; or
            ``(D) an order requiring the appearance of a person for the 
        purpose of providing testimony or a statement, or requiring the 
        production of documents or other things, or both.
    ``(b) Appointment of Persons To Take Testimony or Statements.--
        ``(1) In general.--In response to an application for execution 
    of a request from a foreign authority as described under subsection 
    (a), a Federal judge may also issue an order appointing a person to 
    direct the taking of testimony or statements or of the production 
    of documents or other things, or both.
        ``(2) Authority of appointed person.--Any person appointed 
    under an order issued pursuant to paragraph (1) may--
            ``(A) issue orders requiring the appearance of a person, or 
        the production of documents or other things, or both;
            ``(B) administer any necessary oath; and
            ``(C) take testimony or statements and receive documents or 
        other things.
    ``(c) Filing of Requests.--Except as provided under subsection (d), 
an application for execution of a request from a foreign authority 
under this section may be filed--
        ``(1) in the district in which a person who may be required to 
    appear resides or is located or in which the documents or things to 
    be produced are located;
        ``(2) in cases in which the request seeks the appearance of 
    persons or production of documents or things that may be located in 
    multiple districts, in any one of the districts in which such a 
    person, documents, or things may be located; or
        ``(3) in any case, the district in which a related Federal 
    criminal investigation or prosecution is being conducted, or in the 
    District of Columbia.
    ``(d) Search Warrant Limitation.--An application for execution of a 
request for a search warrant from a foreign authority under this 
section, other than an application for a warrant issued as provided 
under section 2703 of this title, shall be filed in the district in 
which the place or person to be searched is located.
    ``(e) Search Warrant Standard.--A Federal judge may issue a search 
warrant under this section only if the foreign offense for which the 
evidence is sought involves conduct that, if committed in the United 
States, would be considered an offense punishable by imprisonment for 
more than one year under Federal or State law.
    ``(f) Service of Order or Warrant.--Except as provided under 
subsection (d), an order or warrant issued pursuant to this section may 
be served or executed in any place in the United States.
    ``(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to preclude any foreign authority or an interested person 
from obtaining assistance in a criminal investigation or prosecution 
pursuant to section 1782 of title 28, United States Code.
    ``(h) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
        ``(1) Federal judge.--The terms `Federal judge' and `attorney 
    for the Government' have the meaning given such terms for the 
    purposes of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
        ``(2) Foreign authority.--The term `foreign authority' means a 
    foreign judicial authority, a foreign authority responsible for the 
    investigation or prosecution of criminal offenses or for 
    proceedings related to the prosecution of criminal offenses, or an 
    authority designated as a competent authority or central authority 
    for the purpose of making requests for assistance pursuant to an 
    agreement or treaty with the United States regarding assistance in 
    criminal matters.''; and
        (5) in the table of sections for chapter 223, by adding at the 
    end the following:

``3512. Foreign requests for assistance in criminal investigations and 
          prosecutions.''.


                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.