II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1637 

To clarify appeal time limits in civil actions to which United States officers 

or employees are parties. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 3, 2011 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To clarify appeal time limits in civil actions to which United 

States officers or employees are parties. 

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 ‘‘Appeal Time Clarifica5 tion Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) section 2107 of title 28, United States 

9 Code, and rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate 

10 Procedure provide that the time to appeal for most 


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1 civil actions is 30 days, but that the appeal time for 

2 all parties is 60 days when the parties in the civil 

3 action include the United States, a United States of4 ficer, or a United States agency; 

5 (2) the 60-day period should apply if one of the 

6 parties is— 

7 (A) the United States; 

8 (B) a United States agency; 

9 (C) a United States officer or employee 

10 sued in an official capacity; or 

11 (D) a current or former United States offi12 cer or employee sued in an individual capacity 

13 for an act or omission occurring in connection 

14 with duties performed on behalf of the United 

15 States; 

16 (3) section 2107 of title 28, United States 

17 Code, and rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate 

18 Procedure (as amended to take effect on December 

19 1, 2011, in accordance with section 2074 of that 

20 title) should uniformly apply the 60-day period to 

21 those civil actions relating to a Federal officer or 

22 employee sued in an individual capacity for an act 

23 or omission occurring in connection with Federal du24 ties; 


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1 (4) the civil actions to which the 60-day periods 

2 should apply include all civil actions in which a legal 

3 officer of the United States represents the relevant 

4 officer or employee when the judgment or order is 

5 entered or in which the United States files the ap6 peal for that officer or employee; and 

7 (5) the application of the 60-day period in sec8 tion 2107 of title 28, United States Code, and rule 

9 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure— 

10 (A) is not limited to civil actions in which 

11 representation of the United States is provided 

12 by the Department of Justice; and 

13 (B) includes all civil actions in which the 

14 representation of the United States is provided 

15 by a Federal legal officer acting in an official 

16 capacity, such as civil actions in which a Mem17 ber, officer, or employee of the Senate or the 

18 House of Representatives is represented by the 

19 Office of Senate Legal Counsel or the Office of 

20 General Counsel of the House of Representa21 tives. 

22 SEC. 3. TIME FOR APPEALS TO COURT OF APPEALS. 

23 Section 2107 of title 28, United States Code, is 

24 amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(b) In any such action, suit, or proceeding, the time 

2 as to all parties shall be 60 days from such entry if one 

3 of the parties is— 

4 ‘‘(1) the United States; 

5 ‘‘(2) a United States agency; 

6 ‘‘(3) a United States officer or employee sued 

7 in an official capacity; or 

8 ‘‘(4) a current or former United States officer 

9 or employee sued in an individual capacity for an act 

10 or omission occurring in connection with duties per11 formed on behalf of the United States, including all 

12 instances in which the United States represents that 

13 officer or employee when the judgment, order, or de14 cree is entered or files the appeal for that officer or 

15 employee.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 The amendment made by this Act shall take effect 

18 on December 1, 2011. 

Æ 


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