[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 102 (Friday, July 29, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                 INSLAW

                                 ______


                           HON. CHARLIE ROSE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 29, 1994

  Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation for the 
relief of INSLAW, Inc. and William and Nancy Hamilton, the owners of 
INSLAW. These citizens have been grievously harmed by acts and 
omissions of our Government for more than a decade. Justice Department 
officials at the highest levels have taken the Hamiltons' property and 
used it without compensating them for its use and have thwarted their 
every attempt to obtain justice.
  INSLAW, Inc. is a computer software company based in Washington, DC, 
and owned by William and Nancy Hamilton. INSLAW markets case management 
software products to courts and related justice agencies, to the 
insurance industry, to large law firms, and to the law departments of 
corporations. INSLAW's principal asset is a highly sophisticated 
software program called PROMIS, a computer program which manages large 
amounts of information.
  In 1982, INSLAW won a 3-year, $10 million contract with the 
Department of Justice to install case management systems in the U.S. 
attorney's offices. The company soon became enmeshed in a series of 
contract disputes when the Justice Department began withholding 
increasingly large amounts of money until INSLAW was forced to file for 
chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1985. INSLAW survived bankruptcy and emerged 
from chapter 11 with a loan from the IBM Corp., and INSLAW business 
partner.
  INSLAW filed suit against the Justice Department in U.S. Bankruptcy 
Court in June, 1986. On September 28, 1987, Judge George Bason of the 
Bankruptcy Court ruled that the Justice Department ``took, converted, 
stole'' INSLAW's software through trickery, fraud, and deceit and 
thereafter unlawfully attempted to cause INSLAW's liquidation.
  In November 1989, senior U.S. District Judge William Bryant of the 
District of Columbia affirmed the Bankruptcy Court's $8 million 
judgment against the Justice Department, ruling that ``[t]he cold 
record adequately supports his findings under any standard of review.'' 
The U.S. District Court decision was reversed by the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia in May 1991 on technical 
jurisdictional grounds. The Appeals Court ruled that INSLAW had 
proceeded in the wrong court.
  INSLAW proceeded pro se on its contract claim before the Board of 
Contact Appeals, but thereafter took a dismissal with prejudice because 
the Hamiltons' financial resources were totally exhausted and they were 
unable to run their business and proceed pro se against the Department. 
Simply stated, the Department of Justice used its overwhelming 
resources to bring the Hamiltons to their knees.
  On September 10, 1992, the House Judiciary Committee, completing a 3-
year investigation, made the following statement in its report (H. 
Rept. 102-857), The INSLAW Affair:

       The Committee's investigation largely supports the findings 
     of two federal courts that the Department ``took, converted, 
     stole'' INSLAW's enhanced PROMIS [software] by ``trickery, 
     fraud and deceit'' and that this misappropriation involved 
     officials at the highest levels of the Department of Justice.

  According to sworn testimony before the Committee, high level Justice 
Department officials conspired to steal the PROMIS software and 
secretly convert it to use by domestic and foreign intelligence 
services. The Committee noted in its report:

       This testimony was provided by individuals who knew that 
     the Justice Department would be inclined to prosecute them 
     for perjury if they lied under oath. No such prosecutions 
     have occurred.

  The Committee found that high level Justice Department officials knew 
INSLAW's claim of PROMIS software ownership was legitimate and that the 
Justice Department would ``probably lose the case in court on this 
issue.'' The Committee found it ``incredible that the Department, 
having made this determination, would continue to pursue its litigation 
of these matters.'' The Committee's report stated that--

       The Justice Department continues to improperly use INSLAW's 
     proprietary software in blatant disregard of the findings of 
     two courts and well established property law.

  The September 10, 1992, House Judiciary report contained a number of 
findings and recommendations adverse to the Justice Department. In one 
of its most important conclusions, the report stated:

       Based on the evidence presented in this report, the 
     Committee believes that extraordinary steps are required to 
     resolve the INSLAW issue. The Attorney General should take 
     immediate steps to remunerate INSLAW for the harm the 
     Department has egregiously caused the company. The amount 
     determined should include all reasonable legal expenses and 
     other costs to the Hamiltons not directly related to the 
     contract but caused by actions taken by the Department to 
     harm the company or its employees. To avoid further 
     retaliation against the company, the Attorney General should 
     prohibit Department personnel who participated in any way in 
     the litigation of the INSLAW matter from further involvement 
     in this case. In the event that the Attorney General does not 
     move expeditiously to remunerate INSLAW, then Congress should 
     move quickly under the congressional reference provisions of 
     the Court of Claims Act to initiate a review of this matter 
     by that court. (Emphasis supplied.)
  After years of wrongs and numerous acts of coverup and denial, the 
Department of Justice now stands unrepentant in the face of compelling 
evidence that it has dealt with citizens of this country in the most 
egregious way.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to move now to refer this matter to the U.S. 
Court of Federal Claims so that the Hamiltons and INSLAW can get a fair 
hearing under the congressional reference procedure and finally obtain 
the justice which has been so long denied.

                          ____________________