Senate, House Bills Advance Despite Law-Enforcement Pushback
By Derek Gilna
Only good
news came out of the “mark-up” session on the Senate bill for prisoner relief,
after it was approved as expected by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Those opposing the bill, such as Republican Presidential
Candidate and Texas
However,
these actions were expected by the bill’s sponsors, and easily turned aside.
Senators Grassley and Durbin and their allies supporting the bill are fully
prepared to beat back the delaying tactics usually used to oppose these
measures. The leadership of both parties
stands firmly behind the bill and I am still expecting passage sooner rather
than later. There is no question that
President Obama will sign the legislation when it hits his desk.
We know
that the bill still does not go far enough, and has little to say about
white-collar prisoners, but a new coalition is banding together to propose the
next generation of reform after the Senate and House bills pass. These
proposals are the next logical step in this process, and would drastically
reduce the number of people coming into the system. More attention will also be
paid to bills already introduced to give the currently confined a pathway to
earlier release by programming and “good behavior.” Other advocates are
proposing legislation to limit the immunity of prosecutors who violate
discovery rules and commit other misconduct, as advocated by some federal
appellate court judges. There is a lot
making its way through the pipeline.
For those
of you not wanting to wait for legislative relief, the roadmap for relief is
clear given existing case law and some exciting cases currently before the U.S.
Supreme Court. We would be happy to help
you explore your options.
Federal Legal Center, Inc.
Derek A. Gilna, JD, Director
(847) 878-0160
