[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 40 (Monday, October 7, 1996)]
[Page 1941]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing Witness Retaliation, Witness Tampering, and Jury 
Tampering Legislation

October 1, 1996

    Today I am pleased to sign H.R. 3120, legislation to protect the 
integrity of our legal system and ensure the safety of our families.
    The United States is a nation of laws. We have always been committed 
to making our legal system the best, the most effective, and the fairest 
in the world.
    In the last three and a half years, we have worked hard to live up 
to that fundamental obligation--putting more police on the street; 
getting gangs and guns and drugs off the street; introducing tougher 
penalties for a wide range of crimes; appointing more judges with the 
American Bar Association's top rating than any administration in 20 
years.
    Today, we take an important new step. This legislation dramatically 
increases the punishment for those who would influence, tamper with, or 
retaliate against witnesses, jurors, and court officers in federal 
criminal cases.
    Let me be very clear: The integrity of our legal system depends on 
the integrity of our courts. And the integrity of our courts depends on 
individual citizens serving as impartial jurors--free from intimidation 
or temptation. We must see to it that juries decide cases based only on 
evidence presented in the courtroom. Our prosecutors must have a fair 
chance to make their case. Our fight against crime is too important, our 
system of justice too sacred, the security of our people too vital, for 
justice to be denied because a jury has been tampered with.
    With this legislation, we send a simple message to those who would 
abuse our system of justice: When the integrity of our laws and the 
safety our people are at stake, we will take no chances.

Note: H.R. 3120, approved October 1, was assigned Public Law No. 104-
214.