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“TO ALLOW UNITED STATES COURTS TO CONDUCT BUSINESS DURING EMERGENCY CONDITIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S9774-S9776 on Sept. 8, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TO ALLOW UNITED STATES COURTS TO CONDUCT BUSINESS DURING EMERGENCY
CONDITIONS
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1634 and H.R. 3650, en bloc.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bills en bloc.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1634) to allow United States courts to conduct business during emergency conditions, and for other purposes.
A bill (H.R. 3650) to allow United States courts to conduct business during emergency conditions, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bills.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I seek recognition to support legislation that is urgently needed in light of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. This legislation would authorize Federal circuit, district, and bankruptcy courts to conduct special sessions outside their respective boundaries in times of emergency. Currently there is no authority in the law for Federal courts to hold session beyond their geographical districts.
The need for such authority initially became apparent following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Those attacks seriously impaired Federal court operations in New York City at the time. Court facilities available in nearby districts, such as New Jersey, could have alleviated the disruption in court services, but the authority provided in this legislation did not exist.
The recent impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Federal courts in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi has heightened the urgency of congressional action on this proposal. When emergencies, whether they be natural disasters or terrorist attacks, make shifting court operations to other court facilities within the affected district impossible, a Federal court facility in an adjoining district or circuit might be more readily and safely available to court personnel, litigants, jurors, and the public.
The widespread flooding and vast destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina has created precisely this scenario. All of the Federal court facilities in the Eastern District of Louisiana are severely damaged and will not be available for a significant period of time. Courthouses have roof and window damage, extensive water infiltration, and no electrical power. Senior court management are meeting in Lafayette to discuss finding viable and possibly long-term alternative sites for court operations for that entire district, but such alternative sites most certainly must be outside the geographical boundaries of that district.
Federal courts in the Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana are expected to remain open for business and possibly could provide temporary courtroom facilities, and the judiciary will be exploring these and other possibilities if given the authority proposed in this bill.
In the Southern District of Alabama, seawater has flooded the basement of the Mobile, AL, courthouse, and debris is scattered throughout the grounds. The court does not know when that facility will become operational again, and this court too, may have to be temporarily relocated outside of the district. Similarly, in the Southern District of Mississippi, seawater has flooded the Gulfport facility, and communications and electrical power are down. Court operations in the Gulfport area have been shifted within that district to the court facility in Jackson, MS.
The Fifth Circuit operations in New Orleans are completely closed and will remain so for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, the judiciary has undertaken efforts to determine how much of the Fifth Circuit operations in New Orleans can be shifted within the circuit to Houston, and for what period of time.
The Federal courts in these areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina simply must be able to shift court proceedings temporarily into a neighboring district. Without this legislation, the Federal criminal justice system risks grounding to a protracted halt throughout the gulf region at a time when it is needed most. This legislation is needed now to avoid undue delay in bringing criminals to swift justice and resolving civil matters important to private citizens, especially bankruptcy proceedings in anticipation of an increase in bankruptcy filings in Hurricane Katrina's wake.
The need for this bill was brought to my attention by Judge Edward Becker of the Third Circuit and his colleagues at the Administrative Office of the Federal Courts and it enjoys their strong support. This bill is supported by my Democratic colleague, Senator Leahy, as well as Senators from the States ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Since this bill is noncontroversial and clearly urgent, it is my hope that it can be passed by unanimous consent before the end of business today.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the devastation wrought by the Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans and the gulf coast is not yet fully known. As the fate of thousands of our fellow Americans remains uncertain and the lives of many have been uprooted and the livelihood of many others affected, we must do all we can to assist those still suffering.
During this time of crisis, one thing we can do is ensure that the Federal courts in these afflicted regions continue to function. I worked with Senators Landrieu, Vitter, and Chairman Specter, Chairman Sensenbrenner and Congressman Conyers to respond to a request from the Judicial Conference for additional authority to conduct court business outside the traditional territorial jurisdiction of a court. I thank them for including in this bill important reporting and accountability requirements.
In implementing this legislation, I want to be sure that we work with the court, the Judicial Conference, and the Justice Department--but also with the local bar and others who will be most directly affected by the invocation of the authority this legislation would grant.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bills be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bills be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (H.R. 3650) was read the third time and passed.
The bill (S. 1634) was read the third time and passed, as follows:
S. 1634
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Judiciary Emergency Special Sessions Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT COURT PROCEEDINGS
OUTSIDE THE TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF THE
COURT.
(a) Circuit Courts.--Section 48 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Each court of appeals may hold special sessions at any place within the United States outside the circuit as the nature of the business may require and upon such notice as the court orders, upon a finding by either the chief judge of the court of appeals (or, if the chief judge is unavailable, the most senior available active judge of the court of appeals) or the judicial council of the circuit that, because of emergency conditions, no location within the circuit is reasonably available where such special sessions could be held. The court may transact any business at a special session outside the circuit which it might transact at a regular session.
``(f) If a court of appeals issues an order exercising its authority under subsection (e), the court--
``(1) through the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall--
``(A) send notice of such order, including the reasons for the issuance of such order, to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
``(B) not later than 180 days after the expiration of such court order submit a brief report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives describing the impact of such order, including--
``(i) the reasons for the issuance of such order;
``(ii) the duration of such order;
``(iii) the impact of such order on litigants; and
``(iv) the costs to the judiciary resulting from such order; and
``(2) shall provide reasonable notice to the United States Marshals Service before the commencement of any special session held pursuant to such order.''.
(b) District Courts.--Section 141 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a)(1)'' before ``Special'';
(2) by inserting ``(2)'' before ``Any''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(b)(1) Special sessions of the district court may be held at such places within the United States outside the district as the nature of the business may require and upon such notice as the court orders, upon a finding by either the chief judge of the district court (or, if the chief judge is unavailable, the most senior available active judge of the district court) or the judicial council of the circuit that, because of emergency conditions, no location within the district is reasonably available where such special sessions could be held.
``(2) Pursuant to this subsection, any business which may be transacted at a regular session of a district court may be transacted at a special session conducted outside the district, except that a criminal trial may not be conducted at a special session outside of the State in which the crime has been committed unless the defendant consents to such a criminal trial.
``(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any case in which a special session is conducted pursuant to this subsection, the district court may summon jurors--
``(A) in civil proceedings, from any part of the district in which the court ordinarily conducts business or the district in which the court is holding a special session; and
``(B) in criminal trials, from any part of the district in which the crime has been committed and, if a defendant so consents, from any district in which the court is conducting business pursuant to this subsection.
``(4) If a district court issues an order exercising its authority under paragraph (1), the court--
``(A) through the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall--
``(i) send notice of such order, including the reasons for the issuance of such order, to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
``(ii) not later than 180 days after the expiration of such court order submit a brief report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives describing the impact of such order, including--
``(I) the reasons for the issuance of such order;
``(II) the duration of such order;
``(III) the impact of such order on litigants; and
``(IV) the costs to the judiciary resulting from such order; and
``(B) shall provide reasonable notice to the United States Marshals Service before the commencement of any special session held pursuant to such order.''.
(c) Bankruptcy Courts.--Section 152(c) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(c)'';
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2)(A) Bankruptcy judges may hold court at such places within the United States outside the judicial district as the nature of the business of the court may require, and upon such notice as the court orders, upon a finding by either the chief judge of the bankruptcy court (or, if the chief judge is unavailable, the most senior available bankruptcy judge) or by the judicial council of the circuit that, because of emergency conditions, no location within the district is reasonably available where the bankruptcy judges could hold court.
``(B) Bankruptcy judges may transact any business at special sessions of court held outside the district pursuant to this paragraph that might be transacted at a regular session.
``(C) If a bankruptcy court issues an order exercising its authority under subparagraph (A), the court--
``(i) through the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall--
``(I) send notice of such order, including the reasons for the issuance of such order, to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
``(II) not later than 180 days after the expiration of such court order submit a brief report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives describing the impact of such order, including--
``(aa) the reasons for the issuance of such order;
``(bb) the duration of such order;
``(cc) the impact of such order on litigants; and
``(dd) the costs to the judiciary resulting from such order; and
``(ii) shall provide reasonable notice to the United States Marshals Service before the commencement of any special session held pursuant to such order.''.
(d) United States Magistrate Judges.--Section 636 of title 28, United States Code, is amended in subsection (a) by striking ``territorial jurisdiction prescribed by his appointment--'' and inserting ``district in which sessions are held by the court that appointed the magistrate judge, at other places where that court may function, and elsewhere as authorized by law--''.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for the information of colleagues, the bills, as stated, S. 1634 and H.R. 3650, are to address the issue of responding to the emergency of the national disaster which has occurred and in some ways is ongoing in the Gulf States. This allows our Federal court system to continue its operation. This legislation requires it to do so. This likely will be among a series of bills we will address over the coming days and weeks that respond to the disaster itself and to service the victims of that disaster, the people who are still in that coastal area of Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama, to the victims who have been displaced, and to help volunteers and those people who are pitching in around the country, both government and private sector, as we come together to respond to this disaster that may well be the largest natural disaster we have seen in the last 100 years.
The pending legislation is the Commerce, Science, and Justice appropriations bill. In this bill, as has been discussed, are a number of provisions related to Katrina and our response to Katrina, things such as the small business disaster loans.
We will be, in fact, on that bill shortly, and the chairman will be here. I encourage Members to come over and talk to the chairman and ranking member. We want to move expeditiously with this appropriations bill, in part, because it does have Katrina-related issues in it. I would love to be able to finish this bill this week, if at all possible.
Second, just for the information of our colleagues, the House will pass, at some point today or this afternoon, our second supplemental request to respond to this disaster. We have passed a $10.5 billion bill in an urgent emergency session last Thursday night. The Senate addressed it. This will be a second supplemental. As most know, it is more than $50 billion, a very large sum, but that is the appropriate sum, as a second phase, as determined by our appropriate personnel and staff.
The House will pass that later today. Once they pass that, it will come to the Senate either this afternoon or this evening. I want to make sure our members know we will have rollcall votes today. It may well be tonight, but we need to pass the supplemental as soon as we possibly can.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, this side of the aisle concurred when the majority leader offered the unanimous consent allowing the Federal court to do their business outside of their jurisdiction. It is the people's business. How fitting we have the wheels of justice providing that flexibility. I am sure there will be other legislation; we hope it all goes as smoothly.
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