[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 56 (Monday, April 30, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4047-S4048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 800. A bill to provide for post conviction DNA testing, to 
establish a competent counsel grant program, and other purpose; to the 
Committee on Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Criminal 
Justice Integrity and Innocence Protection Act of 2001.
  It is my hope that this bill will jump-start the process of ensuring 
that every innocent prisoner in this nation has access to DNA testing 
that could set

[[Page S4048]]

them free, and that every criminal defendant has access to truly 
competent counsel.
  This is not the first bill to be introduced on this issue.
  My good friend from Vermont and ranking member of the Judiciary 
Committee, Senator Leahy, has twice introduced his Innocence Protection 
Act, with an impressive and bipartisan group of supporters behind the 
bill. I commend him for his work on this issue, and I look forward to 
continuing to work with him to see a bill pass.
  But I have had some concerns with certain provisions of the Leahy 
bill, concerns that make it impossible for me to support the bill as 
currently drafted.
  Also last year, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator 
Hatch, addressed the DNA issue in a bill of his own. However, that bill 
did not include provisions on competent counsel, something that I very 
strongly feel should be included.
  So the real aim of my effort is to start moving this process forward. 
It has been well over a year since these bills were first discussed, 
and no real action has taken place. There are differences of opinion on 
how to move forward on this issue, and I fully understand how committed 
each side is to their position.
  But I believe that these differences of opinion will continue to 
prevent the Senate from considering this issue for the foreseeable 
future, unless something is done to break the stalemate.
  In the hopes of doing just that, breaking the stalemate, last year, I 
invited both Senator hatch and Senator Leahy together, to try to 
resolve the differences between their two approaches. We had a 
constructive meeting, and some progress was made.
  Since that time, each of us has gone back and forth with suggestions 
and criticisms of various ideas, and our staffs have been working 
diligently on trying to craft a solution to the impasse.
  Nevertheless, time continues to run without action.
  So today, I am introducing what I believe is a good compromise on 
this issue, a piece of legislation, based on our discussions, that I 
hope will spur debate, and provide a major step forward on this issue.
  Essentially, the legislation I am introducing today does two things.
  First, the bill provides a procedure by which prisoners who might be 
able to prove their innocence with the use of new DNA technology can do 
so.
  The bill contains safeguards, of course, so that frivolous requests 
will be minimized.
  For instance, prisoners have to demonstrate that biological evidence 
does exist that could possibly prove them innocent, and they must show 
that DNA testing was unavailable to them at the time of trial.
  But overall, the bill will allow for the testing of inmates where 
evidence could lead to their exoneration.
  If DNA testing proves innocence, the judge can release the prisoner 
immediately or, if there are other crimes of which the defendant may 
have been guilty, the judge can determine the best way to proceed in 
the case.
  Second, the bill also addresses the issue of competent counsel, 
through the establishment of independent, national standards for legal 
representation in capital cases.
  Specifically, this legislation directs the State Justice Institute to 
study this issue and to develop standards for competent counsel in 
capital cases.
  The bill then authorizes grants to states that agree to adopt those 
standards.
  The State Justice Institute has long served as a neutral facilitator 
between the state and federal judicial systems, and the bill would 
allow them to work with judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys 
alike to develop a model system for standards in these cases.
  The combination of these two parts of the bill, competent counsel 
standards and DNA testing, will serve as powerful tools in restoring 
the public's confidence in the integrity of our judicial system.
  I support the death penalty, and I have for a long time. And I have 
spent much of my public career trying to ensure that guilty people face 
the consequences of their actions.
  But we must protect the innocent from a system of justice that can 
make mistakes. That is what this bill is all about, and that is why I 
hope we can move quickly to debate this issue fairly, with all opinions 
on the table, and move forward towards passage of a reasoned, strong 
bill.
                                 ______