I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2325 

To provide adequate penalties for crimes committed against United States 

judges and Federal law enforcement officers, to provide appropriate security for judges and law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2007 

Mr. GOHMERT (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Texas, and Mr. FORBES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide adequate penalties for crimes committed against 

United States judges and Federal law enforcement officers, to provide appropriate security for judges and law 

enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Court and Law En5 forcement Officers Protection Act of 2007’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL PENALTIES FOR MURDER, KIDNAPPING, 

2 AND RELATED CRIMES AGAINST FEDERAL 

3 JUDGES AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

4 OFFICERS. 

5 (a) MURDER.—Section 1114 of title 18, United 

6 States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘Whoever’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(b) If the victim of an offense punishable under this 

10 section is a United States judge or a Federal law enforce11 ment officer (as those terms are defined in section 115) 

12 the offender shall be punished by— 

13 ‘‘(1) a fine under this title; and 

14 ‘‘(2)(A) in the case of murder, attempted mur15 der, or conspiracy to murder, imprisonment for any 

16 term of years not less than 30 years, or for life, or, 

17 if death results, may be sentenced to death; 

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of voluntary manslaughter, im19 prisonment for a term of years not less than 15 

20 years nor more than 40 years; and 

21 ‘‘(C) in the case of involuntary manslaughter, 

22 imprisonment for a term of years not less than 3 

23 years nor more than 15 years.’’. 

24 (b) KIDNAPPING.—Section 1201(a) of title 18, 

25 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

26 following: ‘‘If the victim of the offense punishable under 

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1 this subsection is a United States judge or a Federal law 

2 enforcement officer (as those terms are defined in section 

3 115) the offender shall be punished by a fine under this 

4 title and imprisonment for any term of years not less than 

5 30 years, or for life, or, if death results, may be sentenced 

6 to death.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL JUDGES AND PROSECU8 TORS TO CARRY FIREARMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United 

10 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3053 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘§ 3054. Authority of Federal judges and prosecutors 

13 to carry firearms 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any justice of the United States 

15 or judge of the United States (as defined in section 451 

16 of title 28), any judge of a court created under article I 

17 of the United States Constitution, any bankruptcy judge, 

18 any magistrate judge, any United States attorney, and 

19 any other officer or employee of the Department of Justice 

20 whose duties include representing the United States in a 

21 court of law, may carry firearms. 

22 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General shall 

23 prescribe regulations to carry out this section. Such regu24 lations may provide for training and regular certification 

25 in the use of firearms and shall, with respect to justices, 

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1 judges, bankruptcy judges, and magistrate judges, be pre2 scribed after consultation with the Judicial Conference of 

3 the United States.’’. 

4 (b) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 926B of title 18, 

6 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following: 

8 ‘‘(f) For purposes of this section, a law enforcement 

9 officer of the Amtrak Police Department or a law enforce10 ment or police officer of the executive branch of the Fed11 eral Government qualifies as an employee of a govern12 mental agency who is authorized by law to engage in or 

13 supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or pros14 ecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any vio15 lation of law, and has statutory powers of arrest.’’. 

16 (2) RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 

17 Section 926C of title 18, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) in subsection (c)— 

20 (i) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking 

21 ‘‘was regularly employed as a law enforce22 ment officer for an aggregate of 15 years 

23 or more’’ and inserting ‘‘served as a law 

24 enforcement officer for an aggregate of 10 

25 years or more’’; and 

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1 (ii) by striking paragraphs (4) and 

2 (5), and designating paragraphs (6) and 

3 (7) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 

4 (B) in subsection (d)— 

5 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

6 after the semicolon; 

7 (ii) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking 

8 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

9 and 

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(3) in those States or for those law enforce13 ment agencies that do not issue the identification or 

14 certification required by paragraph (1) or (2)— 

15 ‘‘(A) an identification issued by the agency 

16 from which the individual retired from service 

17 as a law enforcement officer; 

18 ‘‘(B) a photographic identification issued 

19 by an agency of the State in which the indi20 vidual resides, such as a driver’s license or a 

21 State identification card; and 

22 ‘‘(C) a document issued by the State in 

23 which the individual resides that either certifies 

24 that the individual is authorized by the laws of 

25 that State to carry a concealed firearm, or, in 

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1 those States that do not provide mandatory and 

2 objective standards for the issuance of such a li3 cense, certifies that the individual has received 

4 training in the safe handling of firearms or has 

5 completed a firearms safety or training course 

6 for security guards or investigators.’’; and 

7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(f) In this section, the term ‘service with a public 

9 agency as a law enforcement officer’ includes service as 

10 a law enforcement officer of the Amtrak Police Depart11 ment or as a law enforcement or police officer of the exec12 utive branch of the Federal Government.’’. 

13 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 for chapter 203 of title 18, United States Code, is amend15 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 3053 the 

16 following: 

‘‘3054. Authority of Federal judges and prosecutors to carry firearms.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN ASSAULTS. 

18 Section 111 of title 18, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘8 years’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘15 years’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘20 years’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘30 years’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(c) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND JUDGES.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the victim of an assault 

2 punishable under this section is a United States 

3 judge or a Federal law enforcement officer (as those 

4 terms are defined in section 115) the offender shall 

5 be punished by a fine under this title and— 

6 ‘‘(A) if the assault resulted in bodily injury 

7 (as that term is defined in section 1365), im8 prisonment for a term of years not less than 2 

9 years nor more than 10 years; 

10 ‘‘(B) if the assault resulted in substantial 

11 bodily injury (as that term is defined in section 

12 113), imprisonment for a term of years not less 

13 than 5 years nor more than 15 years; and 

14 ‘‘(C) if a dangerous weapon was used or 

15 possessed during and in relation to the offense, 

16 or if the assault resulted in serious bodily injury 

17 (as defined in section 2119(2)), imprisonment 

18 for a term of years not less than 10 years nor 

19 more than 25 years. 

20 ‘‘(2) IMPOSITION OF PUNISHMENT.—Each pun21 ishment for criminal conduct described in this sub22 section shall be in addition to any other punishment, 

23 whether imposed for a conviction under this section 

24 or otherwise, for other criminal conduct during the 

25 same criminal episode.’’. 

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1 SEC. 5. SPECIAL PENALTIES FOR RETALIATING AGAINST A 

2 FEDERAL JUDGE OR FEDERAL LAW EN3 FORCEMENT OFFICER BY MURDERING OR AS4 SAULTING A FAMILY MEMBER. 

5 Section 115 of title 18, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

8 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(c)(1) If an offense punishable under this section 

12 is committed with the intent to impede, intimidate, or 

13 interfere with a United States judge or a Federal law en14 forcement officer while engaged in the performance of offi15 cial duties, or with the intent to retaliate against such 

16 judge or officer on account of the performance of official 

17 duties, the offender shall be punished— 

18 ‘‘(A) in the case of murder, attempted murder, 

19 conspiracy to murder, or manslaughter, as provided 

20 in section 1114(b); 

21 ‘‘(B) in the case of kidnapping, attempted kid22 napping, or conspiracy to kidnap, as provided for an 

23 offense against a United States judge or Federal law 

24 enforcement officer in section 1201(a); 

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1 ‘‘(C) in the case of an assault, as provided for 

2 an offense against a United States judge or Federal 

3 law enforcement officer in section 111; 

4 ‘‘(D) in the case of a threat, by a fine under 

5 this title and imprisonment for a term of years not 

6 less than 2 years nor more than 10 years. 

7 ‘‘(2) Each punishment for criminal conduct described 

8 in this subsection shall be in addition to any other punish9 ment, whether imposed for a conviction under this section 

10 or otherwise, for other criminal conduct during the same 

11 criminal episode.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON DAMAGES INCURRED DURING COM13 MISSION OF A FELONY OR CRIME OF VIO14 LENCE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1979 of the Revised Stat16 utes (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended by— 

17 (1) striking ‘‘except that in any action’’ and all 

18 that follows through ‘‘relief was unavailable.’’ and 

19 inserting the following: ‘‘except that— 

20 ‘‘(1) in any action brought against a judicial of21 ficer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s 

22 judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be grant23 ed unless a declaratory decree was violated or de24 claratory relief was unavailable; and 

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1 ‘‘(2) in any action seeking redress for a depri2 vation that was incurred in the course of, or as a re3 sult of, or is related to, conduct by the injured party 

4 that, more likely than not, constituted a felony or a 

5 crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of title 

6 18, United States Code), including any deprivation 

7 in the course of arrest or apprehension for, or the 

8 investigation, prosecution, or adjudication of such an 

9 offense, a court shall not have jurisdiction to con10 sider a claim for damages other than— 

11 ‘‘(A) for necessary out-of-pocket expendi12 tures and other monetary loss; and 

13 ‘‘(B) if the deprivation consisted of the 

14 purposeful infliction of serious bodily injury (as 

15 defined in section 1365 of title 18, United 

16 States Code) by the defendant upon the injured 

17 party, for additional damages in an amount 

18 that shall not exceed $250,000.’’; and 

19 (2) indenting the last sentence as an undesig20 nated paragraph. 

21 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—Section 722(b) of the Re22 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘except that in any action brought against a judicial offi24 cer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial 

25 capacity such officer shall not be held liable for any costs, 

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1 including attorneys fees, unless such action was clearly in 

2 excess of such officer’s jurisdiction.’’ and inserting the fol3 lowing: ‘‘except that— 

4 ‘‘(1) in any action brought against a judicial of5 ficer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s 

6 judicial capacity, such officer shall not be held liable 

7 for any costs, including attorneys fees, unless such 

8 action was clearly in excess of such officer’s jurisdic9 tion; and 

10 ‘‘(2) in any action seeking redress for a depri11 vation that was incurred in the course of, or as a re12 sult of, or is related to, conduct by the injured party 

13 that, more likely than not, constituted a felony or a 

14 crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of title 

15 18, United States Code), including any deprivation 

16 in the course of arrest or apprehension for, or the 

17 investigation, prosecution, or adjudication of, such 

18 an offense, the court may not allow such party to re19 cover attorney’s fees.’’. 

20 (c) APPLICATION.—This section and the amendments 

21 made by this section shall apply to cases pending on or 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

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1 SEC. 7. FEDERAL REVIEW OF STATE CONVICTION FOR 

2 MURDER OF A PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER OF 

3 JUDGE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Police Officer Daniel Faulkner Act of 2007’’. 

6 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 2254 of title 28, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(j) For an application for a writ of habeas corpus 

10 on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment 

11 of a State court for a crime that involved the killing of 

12 a public safety officer or judge while the public safety offi13 cer or judge was engaged in the performance of official 

14 duties, or on account of the public safety officer’s or 

15 judge’s performance of official duties or status as a public 

16 safety officer or judge— 

17 ‘‘(1) the application shall be subject to the time 

18 limitations and other requirements under sections 

19 2263, 2264, and 2266; and 

20 ‘‘(2) the review of the application by the court 

21 shall be limited to those claims concerning the valid22 ity of the conviction of the applicant for the under23 lying offense for which the applicant is held in cus24 tody. 

25 ‘‘(k) A court shall not consider a claim relating to 

26 sentencing mitigation that was adjudicated on the merits 

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1 in a State court, unless a determination that the error is 

2 not structural is contrary to clearly established Federal 

3 law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United 

4 States.’’. 

5 (c) FINALITY OF REVIEW.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2251 of title 28, 

7 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) STAY OF MATTERS.—This section, section 2262, 

10 and section 2101 are the exclusive sources of authority 

11 for Federal courts to stay a sentence of death entered by 

12 a State court.’’. 

13 (2) SECOND OR SUCCESSIVE APPLICATIONS.— 

14 Section 2244(b)(3)(E) of title 28, United States 

15 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the subject of a peti16 tion’’ and all that follows through the end of the 

17 subparagraph and inserting the following: ‘‘reheard 

18 in the court of appeals or reviewed by a writ of cer19 tiorari.’’. 

20 (3) RULES.—Rule 11 of the Rules Governing 

21 Section 2254 Cases in the United States District 

22 Courts is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: ‘‘Rule 60(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil 

24 Procedure does not apply to proceedings under these 

25 rules.’’. 

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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section and the amend3 ments made by this section shall apply to cases 

4 pending on or after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act. 

6 (2) PENDING CASES.—In a case pending on the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, if the amendments 

8 made by this section impose a time limit for taking 

9 certain action, the period of which began on the date 

10 of an event that occurred prior to the date of enact11 ment of this Act, the period of such time limit shall 

12 instead begin on the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 8. BUREAU OF PRISONS FIREARMS POLICY. 

14 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons 

16 shall make rules to allow correctional officers working for 

17 the Bureau to carry firearms to and from work and store 

18 them in appropriate facilities at work. 

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