[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5830 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5830

   To provide that in the case of a law enforcement officer who uses 
  deadly force against a person, and thereby causes the death of that 
   person, a hearing shall be conducted before a judge to determine 
whether there is probable cause for the State to bring criminal charges 
   against the law enforcement officer relating to the death of the 
                    person, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 10, 2014

Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Ellison, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. 
  Grayson, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Clay, Ms. Lee of 
 California, and Mr. Conyers) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide that in the case of a law enforcement officer who uses 
  deadly force against a person, and thereby causes the death of that 
   person, a hearing shall be conducted before a judge to determine 
whether there is probable cause for the State to bring criminal charges 
   against the law enforcement officer relating to the death of the 
                    person, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Grand Jury Reform Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Grand juries are typically used as the process by which 
        allegations of police misconduct are prosecuted.
            (2) There exists a symbiotic relationship between local 
        prosecutors and the law enforcement officers who regularly 
        testify in routine grand jury investigations.
            (3) The closeness of this relationship creates public 
        suspicion that accused police officers receive preferential 
        consideration from grand juries when they are subject to grand 
        jury investigations.
            (4) Police officers have the right to appear before the 
        grand jury investigating allegations of wrongdoing by said 
        officer, and give testimony not subject to a thorough cross 
        examination.
            (5) Grand jury proceedings are by law secret proceedings.
            (6) The secret grand jury process has historically resulted 
        in a refusal to indict when the subject of their investigation 
        is a local law enforcement officer.
            (7) The recent grand jury proceedings following the deaths 
        of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have followed historical 
        tradition, ending with a refusal to indict the law enforcement 
        officers involved in their deaths.
            (8) The American people have lost confidence in the 
        secretive grand jury process when it is used to evaluate 
        allegations of police misconduct.
            (9) The loss of confidence in our system of justice leads 
        to the undermining of the principles of equality and justice 
        upon which this country was founded.

SEC. 3. HEARING BEFORE A JUDGE REQUIRED.

    (a) Receipt of Grant Funds.--In order for a State or unit of local 
government in a State to be eligible to receive Federal funding under 
subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), the State shall comply 
with the requirements of this section.
    (b) Hearing Requirement; Appointment of Special Prosecutor.--In the 
case of a law enforcement officer who uses deadly force against a 
person, and thereby causes the death of that person, the Governor of 
the State in which the death occurred shall appoint a special 
prosecutor to present evidence on behalf of the State at a hearing 
before a judge in the appropriate court, in order to determine whether 
probable cause exists for the State to bring criminal charges against 
the law enforcement officer relating to the death of the person, which 
determination shall be made by the judge. The Governor shall use a 
random process to select the special prosecutor from among the 
prosecutors in the State, excluding the prosecutors of the locality in 
which the death took place.
    (c) Written Determination of Probable Cause.--The judge presiding 
over a hearing described in subsection (b) shall issue the 
determination described in subsection (b) in writing, and shall submit 
such determination to the chief prosecutor of the locality in which the 
death took place.
    (d) Recommendations of the Special Prosecutor.--Upon the conclusion 
of a hearing described in subsection (b), the special prosecutor shall 
submit written recommendations to the chief prosecutor of the locality 
in which the death took place, including a recommendation regarding 
whether criminal charges should be brought against the law enforcement 
officer relating to the death of the person.
    (e) Court To Remain Open to the Public.--In a hearing described in 
subsection (a), the court shall remain open to the public, except as 
determined appropriate by the presiding judge.
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