Issue: Court Security
Impact:
Court buildings are obvious targets for domestic and international violence and terrorism, and need to fund increased security precautions.
Position:
State court leaders agree to take actions to protect court facilities and the people using the facilities and to encourage provision of federal resources to assist state courts.
Summary:
In the 109th Congress, the House passed The Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act of 2005 (HR 1751) by a margin of 375-45 on 11/9/05. HR 1751 included state court provisions – (1) the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 would be amended to include state and local courts in the definition of state and local unit of government so courts would be able to apply directly for DOJ grants tied to that Act; (2) state and local governments applying for and distributing these DOJ funds would also be required to consider the needs of the judicial branch and consult with the chief judicial officer of the highest court of the state or local unit of government; (3) a new $20M grant program would be authorized to assist state courts to conduct assessments and implement court security improvements deemed necessary based on the assessments; and (4) a new $20M grant program would be authorized to enable state courts to establish and maintain a threat assessment database . The Senate passed an amended HR 1751 on 12/6/06. The Senate amendment included only the provision that would make state courts eligible to apply for DOJ funds directly. The 109th Congress adjourned before a compromise could be reached between the House and Senate.
Status:
On 1/24/07, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced S 378, the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007. The bill closely followed the bill passed by the Senate in 109th Congress and would have limited impact on state courts. S 378 included provisions that would 1) make state courts eligible to apply for certain DOJ funds directly and 2) create a $20M grant program to protect witnesses and victims. S 378 was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on 3/1/07. The Senate approved S 378 by a vote of 97-0 on 4/19/07.
On 1/24/07, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduced the companion bill (HR 660). The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security held a hearing on the HR 660 on 5/3/07. Chief Judge Robert Bell presented oral testimony on behalf of CCJ/COSCA at the hearing. The House Judiciary Committee approved HR 660 on 6/13/07 with 4 state court related provisions: authorization for a grant program for an incident reporting/threat assessment database, eligibility for Crime Control Act programs, court consultation language, and a grant program to protect witnesses and victims. The House approved HR 660 on 7/10/07 by voice vote. The two Houses worked out a compromise bill that included the House state court provisions, but further action got bogged down in the Senate over unrelated amendments. The Senate approved the compromise on 12/17/07 and the House concurred on 12/19/07. The president signed the compromise version of HR 660 on 1/7/08 (PL 110-177).
We have been unsuccessful thus far in securing funds for court security for FY 2009 as neither the House nor Senate bills contain funds for the incident reporting/threat assessment database. We will renew our efforts to obtain funding for these two new programs in 2009.