[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3374-S3375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. 
        Sessions):
  S. 630. A bill to make technical amendments to laws containing time 
periods affecting judicial proceedings; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. Presdient, today, we introduce the Statutory Time-
Periods Technical Amendments Act of 2009. I thank Senator Specter, the 
Ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee and Senators Whitehouse 
and Sessions, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Administrative 
Oversight and Courts Subcommittee for cosponsoring.
  This legislation incorporates recommendations from the Judicial 
Conference of the United States to alter deadlines in certain statutes 
affecting court proceedings to account for recent amendments to the 
Federal time-computation rules. This bipartisan bill would provide 
judges and practitioners with commonsense deadlines that are less 
confusing and less complex than current deadlines, and also ensure that 
existing time periods are not shortened.
  After much study and significant public comment, the Judicial 
Conference's Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure and 
the Advisory Committees on Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal 
Rules arrived at proposed new rules intended to provide predictability 
and uniformity to the current process of calculating court deadlines. 
The proposed rules respond, in part, to findings from the Judicial 
Conference that the current time-computation process is confusing and 
can lead to missed deadlines and litigants' loss of important rights. 
Under the current time-calculation rules, weekends and holidays are not 
counted when calculating court deadlines of less than 30 days, but are 
counted for calculating court deadlines longer than 30 days. The 
proposed new rules simplify this process by counting holidays and 
weekends regardless of a court deadline's time period. According to the 
Judicial Conference, these proposed changes would respond to 
practitioners' complaints and criticism from judges.
  This legislation would amend a number of Federal civil and criminal 
statutes affecting court proceedings and harmonize them with the 
proposed rules. First, this remedial bill would alter certain statutory 
court deadlines to counterbalance any shortening of the time period 
resulting from the ``days are days'' approach. For example, the bill 
changes 5 days to 7 days, and 10 days to 14 days, to prevent time 
periods from becoming shorter when a practitioner counts all days, 
including weekends. This change would, in effect, maintain the same 
time periods in the statutes. In addition, if a time period ends on a 
holiday or a weekend the time period would be extended to the next 
business day. The bill would also change some statutory deadlines that 
would otherwise be inconsistent with the amended rules deadlines and 
lead to confusion.
  This bipartisan legislation is time-sensitive. Both the Department of 
Justice and Judicial Conference urge swift consideration of this 
proposal, to allow it to take effect on December 1, 2009, the same date 
as the amendments to the rules.
  According to a letter the Department of Justice sent to the Judicial 
Conference last year: ``Failure to adopt statutory changes that move in 
concert with the proposed rule changes will result in exactly the 
opposite effect of what is intended--changes to the rules alone will 
introduce greater confusion rather than desirable simplification.'' 
Although the Obama administration has not formally weighed

[[Page S3375]]

in on this legislation, I anticipate that the Justice Department will 
again support this proposal. In addition, this bill mirrors the 
proposal from the Judicial Conference which enjoyed broad support from 
numerous legal and bar organizations, including of the American College 
of Trial Lawyers, the Council of Appellate Lawyers, and the American 
Bar Association's Section of Litigation and Criminal Justice Section.
  I hope we will consider this measure expeditiously and improve the 
effectiveness of our judicial system. Passing this bill will create a 
consistent and standard method for lawyers and judges to calculate 
court deadlines.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 630

       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 ``Statutory Time-Periods 
     Technical Amendments Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS RELATED TO TITLE 11, UNITED STATES CODE.

       Title 11, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 109(h)(3)(A)(ii), by striking ``5-day'' and 
     inserting ``7-day'';
       (2) in section 322(a), by striking ``five days'' and 
     inserting ``seven days'';
       (3) in section 332(a), by striking ``5 days'' and inserting 
     ``7 days'';
       (4) in section 342(e)(2), by striking ``5 days'' and 
     inserting ``7 days'';
       (5) in section 521(e)(3)(B), by striking ``5 days'' and 
     inserting ``7 days'';
       (6) in section 521(i)(2), by striking ``5 days'' and 
     inserting ``7 days'';
       (7) in section 704(b)(1)(B), by striking ``5 days'' and 
     inserting ``7 days'';
       (8) in section 749(b), by striking ``five days'' and 
     inserting ``seven days''; and
       (9) in section 764(b), by striking ``five days'' and 
     inserting ``seven days''.

     SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS RELATED TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.

       Title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 983(j)(3), by striking ``10 days'' and 
     inserting ``14 days'';
       (2) in section 1514(a)(2)(C), by striking ``10 days'' each 
     place it appears and inserting ``14 days'';
       (3) in section 1514(a)(2)(E), by inserting after ``the 
     Government'' the following: ``, excluding intermediate 
     weekends and holidays,'';
       (4) in section 1963(d)(2), by striking ``ten days'' and 
     inserting ``fourteen days'';
       (5) in section 2252A(c), by striking ``10 days'' and 
     inserting ``14 days'';
       (6) in section 2339B(f)(5)(B)(ii), by striking ``10 days'' 
     and inserting ``14 days'';
       (7) in section 2339B(f)(5)(B)(iii)(I), by inserting after 
     ``trial'' the following: ``, excluding intermediate weekends 
     and holidays'';
       (8) in section 2339B(f)(5)(B)(iii)(III), by inserting after 
     ``appeal'' the following: ``, excluding intermediate weekends 
     and holidays'';
       (9) in section 3060(b)(1), by striking ``tenth day'' and 
     inserting ``fourteenth day'';
       (10) in section 3432, by inserting after ``commencement of 
     trial'' the following: ``, excluding intermediate weekends 
     and holidays,'';
       (11) in section 3509(b)(1)(A), by striking ``5 days'' and 
     inserting ``7 days''; and
       (12) in section 3771(d)(5)(B), by striking ``10 days'' and 
     inserting ``14 days''.

     SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE CLASSIFIED INFORMATION 
                   PROCEDURES ACT.

       The Classified Information Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.) 
     is amended----
       (1) in section 7(b), by striking ``ten days'' and inserting 
     ``fourteen days'';
       (2) in section 7(b)(1), by inserting after ``adjournment of 
     the trial,'' the following: ``excluding intermediate weekends 
     and holidays,''; and
       (3) in section 7(b)(3), by inserting after ``argument on 
     appeal,'' the following: ``excluding intermediate weekends 
     and holidays,''.

     SEC. 5. AMENDMENT RELATED TO THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.

       Section 413(e)(2) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
     U.S.C. 853(e)(2)) is amended by striking ``ten days'' and 
     inserting ``fourteen days''.

     SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS RELATED TO TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE.

       Title 28, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 636(b)(1), by striking ``ten days'' and 
     inserting ``fourteen days'';
       (2) in section 1453(c)(1), by striking ``not less than 7 
     days'' and inserting ``not more than 10 days''; and
       (3) in section 2107(c), by striking ``7 days'' and 
     inserting ``14 days''.

     SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
     December 1, 2009.
                                 ______