February 6, 2023
The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C., 20515

The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C., 20515

Cc:Chairman Jim Jordan
Judiciary Committee
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C., 20515

Ranking Member Jerry Nadler
Judiciary Committee
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C., 20515

Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C., 20515
Re: Oppose efforts to obstruct the District of Columbia’s Revised Criminal Code Act
Dear Speaker McCarthy and Minority Leader Jeffries:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to express our opposition to efforts toobstruct the District of Columbia’s Revised Criminal Code Act, including any resolution ofdisapproval1 or budget rider. The Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 (RCCA) is the product of
16 years of research, an expert commission, 51 public meetings, extensive public feedback, androbust negotiation. As such, the D.C. Council voted unanimously to pass the RCCA and theRCCA is supported by 83% of District voters. 2 Opponents of the RCCA, however, are spreading
misinformation about the RCCA’s impact in a blatant attempt to erode home rule and trample on
the rights of District residents. We urge you to oppose these attacks on the RCCA and voteagainst any resolution of disapproval.
Washingtonians know best how to address criminal justice policies in their community anddeserve the right to determine their own laws. Local leaders are better positioned and retain
more expertise to address safety and justice issues in the District than Congress. Federal
overstepping to interfere with RCCA’s implementation, which does not go into effect until 2025,
would be inappropriate and misguided. The D.C. Council can continue to amend the RCCA, ifdesired, to address stakeholder concerns.
The RCCA is a long-overdue modernization of the D.C. Criminal Code. Since the 1960s,
dozens of states have embarked on criminal code reforms, removing obsolete provisions,
1The House Rules Committee is scheduled to consider H.J. Res. 26, Disapproving the action of the District ofColumbia Council in approving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, at 5:00 PM on Monday February 6, 2023.
2District Voters Overwhelmingly Support Revised Criminal Code Act (2022), DC Justice Lab and FWD.us.

ensuring sentences are proportionate and equitable, and simplifying overlapping charges. TheRCCA follows that trend – the District last comprehensively revised the criminal code in 1901.
A revision to reflect best practices in sentencing and criminological evidence is necessary toensure justice, fairness, and safety in the District. By ensuring the statutes are clear andconstitutional, the RCCA makes the law easier for police officers, attorneys, and judges tounderstand and administer.
To arrive at that revision, the District engaged in a thorough, transparent, andevidence-based process. The D.C. Council created a Criminal Code Reform Commission(CCRC) which prepared recommendations based on a review of recent code reforms in otherjurisdictions, current sentencing practices in D.C. Superior Court, court data, recommendations
by the American Law Institute, social science, and the current sentencing guidelines. 3 The CCRC
Advisory Group, whose five voting members included representatives from the Office of theU.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, the Office of the Attorney General for the District ofColumbia, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, and two professors fromGeorgetown University Law Center and George Washington University Law School,
unanimously voted to approve the recommendations. The D.C. Council also made numerouschanges to the introduced version of the bill, reflecting negotiations with the Metropolitan Police
Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Attorney General, the Public DefenderService, D.C. Superior Court judges, and members of the community. As Mayor Bowser
acknowledged in her January 4, 2023 letter to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, there is“consensus agreement” on “95% of the bill.”4
The RCCA is a balanced bill – bringing the District in line with national sentencing norms
by lengthening some sentences, reducing some maximums, and other reforms. The RCCA
includes many modernizations, such as aligning D.C. with the majority of the country bycreating the right to a jury trial for misdemeanors.5 The RCCA also lengthened sentences forseveral offenses and permits enhancements and stacking that can make the sentences muchlonger. The RCCA increases penalties for possession of assault rifles, ghost guns, and restricted
explosive devices, to 4 years from 1 year under current law. It also creates a new offense,
endangerment with a firearm, which criminalizes discharging a firearm in a public place, or in amanner that creates a substantial risk of death. Additionally, the RCCA reduced the statutory
maximum for certain offenses, in order to improve proportionality and reflect current sentencing
practices, which are typically well below the maximum. As such, the sentence maximum
changes in the RCCA are not expected to lower sentences for serious crimes. For example, theRCCA’s 20-year maximum penalty for robbery is seven times higher than the median sentence
imposed for robbery, and 11 years higher than the 97.5th percentile sentence imposed for

3Transmittal Letter to Mayor Bowser and DC Council (Mar. 31, 2021). DC Criminal Code Reform Commission.
Letter to Chairman Phil Mendelson (Jan. 4, 2023). Mayor Muriel E. Bowser.
5Currently, 35 states permit jury trials for virtually all criminal offenses. First Draft of Report #51 – Jury
Demandable Offenses (Feb. 25, 2020). DC Criminal Code Reform Commission, at 7.
4

robbery.6 For robberies and carjackings, over 97.5% of sentences currently imposed by judges
are lower than the maximum allowable penalty outlined in the RCCA.7
The people and leaders of the District support the RCCA. The RCCA is also backed by anabundance of research, data, and stakeholder feedback. Attempts by Congress to intervene arerooted in efforts to end home rule and falsehoods. We urge you to respect the will ofWashingtonians and oppose all efforts, whether a resolution of disapproval or budget rider, toobstruct the RCCA.
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia
Center for Disability Rights
DC Justice Lab
Drug Policy Alliance
Due Process Institute
FAMM
FWD.usJustice Policy InstituteNational Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
The Festival Center
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The Sentencing Project

6Advisory Group Memorandum #40: Statistics on District Adult Criminal Charges and Convictions (Dec. 31,2020), DC Criminal Code Reform Commission; Appendix D to Advisory Group Memorandum #40 (2020), DC
Criminal Code Reform Commission.
7
Advisory Group Memorandum #40: Statistics on District Adult Criminal Charges and Convictions (Dec. 31,2020), DC Criminal Code Reform Commission; Appendix D to Advisory Group Memorandum #40 (2020), DC
Criminal Code Reform Commission.