Issue: Justice Integrity Act of 2008

Impact:

State court judges would be invited to participate on advisory committees proposed by this legislation. Part of the proposed analysis would be a review of charging policies.

Position:

 No formal position

Summary:

To increase public confidence in the justice system and address any unwarranted racial and ethic disparities in the criminal justice process, there is a recently introduced bill in both Houses that would establish a pilot program in United States districts to gather data on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by United States Attorneys.

On 7/10/08, Senator Joseph Biden (D-NJ) introduced the Justice Integrity Act of 2008. The bill is premised on a proposed “finding” that “racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process have contributed to a growing perception of bias in the criminal justice system;” and that the nation “would benefit from an understanding of all factors causing” disparate treatment of minorities in the criminal justice system. Accordingly, the bill would require the Attorney General to designate 10 United States Attorneys from varying districts to undertake in-depth analyses of the operations of the criminal justice system in their districts. Each pilot district would have an advisory group comprised of civic leaders, social scientists, and legal professionals including federal and state judges. Each pilot district would develop and implement a plan to cure any racial and ethnic disparities found to exist in the criminal justice processes in the subject federal district. One component of the analysis would be to review data related to “charging policies, including decisions as to who should be charged in Federal rather than State court when either forum is available and whether these policies tend to result in racial or ethnic disparities among defendants charged in Federal court, including whether relative disparities exist between State and Federal defendants charged with similar offenses”.

Status:

Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) introduced the companion bill (HR 6518) on 7/16/08.
The legislation was only recently introduced and referred to the respective Judiciary Committees. Prompt action in a Presidential election year is not likely.