[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 49 (Thursday, March 27, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S1811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              JUSTICE FOR ALL REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2013

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I urge Members from both sides of the aisle 
to come together and support passage of the Justice for All 
Reauthorization Act of 2013, an important and bipartisan bill that will 
improve the effectiveness of our criminal justice system. This 
legislation was voted unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee 
on October 31, 2013. It is fitting that the full Senate is considering 
this legislation now, ahead of Crime Victims' Rights Week.
  This important legislation, which is cosponsored by Senator John 
Cornyn of Texas, reauthorizes the original Justice for All Act of 2004. 
That landmark law took significant steps to improve the quality of 
justice in this country by increasing the resources devoted to DNA 
analysis and other forensic science technology, establishing safeguards 
to prevent wrongful convictions, and enhancing protections for crime 
victims. The programs created by the Justice for All Act have had an 
enormous impact, and it is crucial that we reauthorize them.
  We must do more than just reauthorize these vital programs, however.
  The legislation before us strengthens key rights for crime victims, 
reauthorizes the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, includes 
provisions to improve the quality of indigent defense, and increases 
access to post-conviction DNA testing to protect the innocent. It also 
includes new measures to help ensure the effective administration of 
criminal justice in the States.
  The reauthorization strengthens the Kirk Bloodsworth Post Conviction 
DNA Testing Grant Program. Kirk Bloodsworth was a young man just out of 
the marines when he was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for 
a heinous crime that he did not commit. He was the first person in the 
United States to be exonerated from a death row crime through the use 
of DNA evidence.
  The Kirk Bloodsworth Post Conviction DNA Testing Grant Program 
provides grants to States for testing in cases like Mr. Bloodsworth's--
when someone has been convicted but significant DNA evidence was not 
tested. The reauthorization clarifies the conditions set for this 
program, so that participating States are required to preserve key 
evidence, and are given further guidance that will make the program 
more effective and allow more States to participate.
  The Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2013 also takes important 
steps to ensure that all criminal defendants, including those who 
cannot afford a lawyer, receive effective representation. It requires 
the Department of Justice to assist States in developing an effective 
and efficient system of indigent defense, and it calls on the States to 
produce comprehensive plans for their criminal justice systems. I know 
from my time as a prosecutor that the justice system only works as it 
should when each side is well represented by competent and well-trained 
counsel. The principle that all sides deserve zealous and effective 
counsel is at the bedrock of our constitutional system, and I am glad 
the legislation before us today embodies this belief.
  The bill reauthorizes and improves key grant programs in a variety of 
areas throughout the criminal justice system. Importantly, it increases 
authorized funding for the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement 
Grant program, which is a vital program to assist forensic laboratories 
in performing the many forensic tests that are essential to solving 
crimes and prosecuting those who commit those crimes.
  It is also important to note that this bill would make all of these 
improvements while responsibly reducing the total authorized funding 
under the Justice for All Act. These changes will help States, 
communities, and the Federal government save money in the long term.
  I thank the many law enforcement and criminal justice organizations 
that have helped to pinpoint the needed improvements that this bill 
will provide and I appreciate their ongoing support. I also thank 
Senators Coons, Udall of New Mexico, McConnell, Klobuchar, Franken, 
Portman, Feinstein, Hatch, Schumer, Landrieu, Burr, Collins, and 
Merkley for cosponsoring this critical legislation, and I thank the 
lead Republican cosponsor Senator Cornyn for working with me on this 
and on broader legislation to improve the use of forensic evidence in 
criminal cases.
  Together we will continue to work toward a criminal justice system in 
which the innocent remain free, the guilty are punished, and all sides 
have the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to advance the cause 
of justice. Our criminal justice system is not perfect and we are all 
less safe when the system gets it wrong. Americans need and deserve a 
criminal justice system that keeps us safe, ensures fairness and 
accuracy, and fulfills the promise of our Constitution. The Justice for 
All Reauthorization Act will take important steps to bring us closer to 
that goal.

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