Bias Crimes Compensation Act of 1997

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bias Crimes Compensation Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. CIVIL RIGHTS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) bias-motivated crimes of violence constitute crimes in 
        violation of the victim's right to be free from discrimination 
        on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, gender, 
        religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or 
        physical or mental disability;
            (2) State and Federal criminal laws do not adequately 
        protect against the bias element of bias-motivated crimes of 
        violence, which separates these crimes from acts of random 
        violence, nor do those laws adequately provide victims of bias-
        motivated crimes of violence the opportunity to vindicate their 
        interests;
            (3) existing bias and discrimination in the criminal 
        justice system often deprive victims of bias-motivated crimes 
        of violence of equal protection of the laws and the redress to 
        which they are entitled;
            (4) bias-motivated crimes of violence have a substantial 
        adverse effect on interstate commerce, by deterring potential 
        victims from traveling interstate, from engaging in employment 
        in interstate business, and from transacting with business, and 
        in places involved, in interstate commerce;
            (5) bias-motivated crimes of violence have a substantial 
        adverse effect on interstate commerce, by diminishing national 
        productivity, increasing medical and other costs, and 
        decreasing the supply of and the demand for interstate 
        products;
            (6) a Federal civil rights claim, as created in this 
        section, is necessary to guarantee equal protection of the laws 
        and to reduce the substantial adverse effects of bias-motivated 
        crimes of violence on interstate commerce; and
            (7) victims of bias-motivated crimes of violence have a 
        right to equal protection of the laws, including a system of 
        justice that is unaffected by bias or discrimination and that, 
        at every relevant stage, treats such crimes as seriously as 
        other violent crimes.
    (b) Right.--All individuals within the United States, and the 
special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, 
shall have the right to be free from bias-motivated crimes of violence.
    (c) Claim.--Any person, including a person who acts under color of 
any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State, who 
deprives an individual of the right secured by subsection (b) shall be 
liable to the individual injured, in a civil action in any court of 
competent jurisdiction, for compensatory damages of not less than 
$100,000, punitive damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or 
any combination thereof.
    (d) Limitation, Procedure, and Rule of Construction.--
            (1) Limitation.--Nothing in this section entitles an 
        individual to a claim under subsection (c) for random acts of 
        violence unrelated to bias or for acts that cannot be 
        demonstrated, by a preponderance of the evidence, to be bias-
        motivated crimes of violence.
            (2) No prior criminal action.--Nothing in this section 
        requires a prior criminal complaint, prosecution, or conviction 
        to establish the necessary elements of a claim under subsection 
        (c).
            (3) Concurrent jurisdiction.--The Federal and State courts 
        shall have concurrent jurisdiction over actions brought 
        pursuant to this section.
            (4) Rule of construction.--Neither section 1367 of title 28 
        of the United States Code nor subsection (c) of this section 
        shall be construed, by reason of a claim arising under such 
        subsection, to confer on the courts of the United States 
        supplemental jurisdiction of any State law claim seeking the 
        establishment of a divorce, alimony, equitable distribution of 
        marital property, or child custody decree.
    (e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) the term ``bias-motivated'' means committed because of, 
        on the basis of, and due to (at least in part) an animus based 
        on, actual or perceived race, color, gender, religion, national 
        origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical or mental 
        disability of the victim;
            (2) the term ``crime of violence'' means--
                    (A) an act or series of acts that would constitute 
                State or Federal offense of a kind described in section 
                16 of title 18, United States Code, and punishable by a 
                maximum term of imprisonment exceeding one year, but 
                excludes an offense against property that presents no 
                serious risk of physical or mental disability injury to 
                an individual; or
                    (B) one or more actions that would constitute such 
                offense but for the relationship between the person who 
                takes such actions and the individual against whom such 
                actions are taken;
        whether or not such offense or such actions result in criminal 
        charges, prosecution, or conviction and whether or not such 
        actions were taken within the United States or the special 
        maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States;
            (3) the term ``disability'' has the meaning given it in 
        section 3(2) of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
        U.S.C. 12102(2)); and
            (4) the term ``special maritime and territorial 
        jurisdiction of the United States'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 7 of title 18, United States Code.
    (f) Limitation on Removal.--Section 1445 of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) A civil action in any State court arising under section 2 of 
the Bias Crimes Compensation Act of 1993 may not be removed to any 
district court of the United States.''.
    (g) Authority To Award Attorney's Fee.--Section 722(b) of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by 
inserting ``section 2 of the Bias Crimes Compensation Act of 1993,'' 
after ``Public Law 92-318,''.

Summary: Bias Crimes Compensation Act of 1997 - Declares that all individuals within the United States, and its special maritime and territorial jurisdiction, shall have the right to be free from bias-motivated crimes of violence. Makes any person, including one who acts under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State, who deprives an individual of such right, liable to the individual injured, in a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction, for compensatory damages of not less than $100,000, punitive damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or any combination thereof. Specifies that nothing in this Act: (1) entitles an individual to a claim herein for random acts of violence unrelated to bias or for acts that cannot be demonstrated, by a preponderance of the evidence, to be bias-motivated crimes of violence. And (2) requires a prior criminal complaint, prosecution, or conviction to establish the necessary elements of such a claim. Grants the Federal and State courts concurrent jurisdiction over actions brought under this Act. Prohibits a civil action in State court arising under this Act from being removed to US district court. Authorizes the court to award attorney's fees to the prevailing party in cases brought under this Act, subject to specified limitations.