Court Security Improvement Act of 2007: A Legal Analysis of H.R. 660/S. 378
Publication Date: February 2007
Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Author(s):
Research Area: Justice
Type:
Abstract:
The proposals of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, H.R. 660/S. 378, fall within one of four categories. Some amend existing federal criminal law. It increases the penalties for manslaughter committed during the course of an obstruction of justice and for witness intimidation and retaliation. It creates new federal crimes proscribing (1) the use of nuisance liens and encumbrances to harass federal officials; (2) the public disclosure of personal, identifying information concerning federal officials in order to intimidate them or incite crimes of violence against them; and (3) the possession of dangerous weapons in federal courthouses.
A second category seeks to improve implementation of judicial security measures through increased appropriations, enhanced security for the Tax Court, explicit provisions for consultation between the Department of Justice and the Judicial Conference relating to court security, a report on concerns for the safety of federal prosecutors, and a revival of authority to redact information from certain publicly available judicial financial disclosure statements.
A third authorizes grants for state witness protection programs; for increased security of state, territorial and tribal courts; and for acquisition of armored vests for state court officials.
The fourth category consists of proposals whose relation to security may appear more tangential: procurement authority for the United States Sentencing Commission; life insurance costs for bankruptcy, magistrate, and territorial judges; appointment and en banc participation for senior judges; and revival of the appropriations authorization for the Office of Government Ethics.
This report is available in an abridged version -- stripped of its footnotes, and most of its citations to authority -- as CRS Report RS22607, Court Security Improvement Act of 2007: H.R. 660/S. 378 in Brief, by Charles Doyle.