[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1289 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1289

             To improve title 18 of the United States Code.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2009

 Mr. Whitehouse (for himself, Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Leahy) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
             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.''.
                                 <all>