[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 103 (Friday, July 10, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7373-S7374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            FOREIGN EVIDENCE REQUEST EFFICIENCY ACT OF 2009

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1289, and the 
Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1289) to improve title 18 of the United States 
     Code.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements 
relating to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1289) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1289

       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

[[Page S7374]]

       ``(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.''.

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