II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1968 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect judges, prosecutors, 

witnesses, victims, and their family members, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 7, 2005 

Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect judges, 

prosecutors, witnesses, victims, and their family members, 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 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Court Security Improvement Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. JUDICIAL BRANCH SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. 

7 (a) ENSURING CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION

8 WITH THE JUDICIARY.—Section 566 of title 28, United 
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1 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(i) The Director of the United States Marshals 

4 Service shall consult and coordinate with the Judicial Con5 ference of the United States on a continuing basis regard6 ing the security requirements for the judicial branch of 

7 the United States Government.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 331 of title 

9 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘The Judicial Conference shall consult and coordi12 nate with the Director of United States Marshals Service 

13 on a continuing basis regarding the security requirements 

14 for the judicial branch of the United States Government.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF FAMILY MEMBERS. 

16 Section 105(b)(3) of the Ethics in Government Act 

17 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or a 

19 family member of that individual’’ after ‘‘that indi20 vidual’’; and 

21 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by inserting ‘‘or a 

22 family member of that individual’’ after ‘‘the re23 port’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF SUNSET PROVISION. 

2 Section 105(b)(3) of the Ethics in Government Act 

3 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App) is amended by striking ‘‘2005’’ 

4 each place that term appears and inserting ‘‘2009’’. 

5 SEC. 5. PROTECTIONS AGAINST MALICIOUS RECORDING OF 

6 FICTITIOUS LIENS AGAINST FEDERAL 

7 JUDGES AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

8 OFFICERS. 

9 (a) OFFENSE.—Chapter 73 of title 18, United States 

10 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘§ 1521. Retaliating against a Federal judge or Fed12 eral law enforcement officer by false 

13 claim or slander of title 

14 ‘‘(a) Whoever files or attempts to file, in any public 

15 record or in any private record which is generally available 

16 to the public, any false lien or encumbrance against the 

17 real or personal property of a Federal judge or a Federal 

18 law enforcement official, on account of the performance 

19 of official duties by that Federal judge or Federal law en20 forcement official, knowing or having reason to know that 

21 such lien or encumbrance is false or contains any materi22 ally false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representa23 tion, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not 

24 more than 10 years, or both. 

25 ‘‘(b) As used in this section— 
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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Federal judge’ means a justice 

2 or judge of the United States as defined in section 

3 451 of title 28, United States Code, a judge of the 

4 United States Court of Federal Claims, a United 

5 States bankruptcy judge, a United States magistrate 

6 judge, and a judge of the United States Court of 

7 Appeals for the Armed Forces, United States Court 

8 of Appeals for Veterans Claims, United States Tax 

9 Court, District Court of Guam, District Court of the 

10 Northern Mariana Islands, or District Court of the 

11 Virgin Islands; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ 

13 has the meaning given that term in section 115 of 

14 this title and includes an attorney who is an officer 

15 or employee of the United States in the executive 

16 branch of the Government.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

18 for chapter 73 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1521. Retaliating against a Federal judge or Federal law enforcement officer by false claim or slander of title.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUALS PERFORMING CER21 TAIN OFFICIAL DUTIES. 

22 (a) OFFENSE.—Chapter 7 of title 18, United States 

23 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 117. Protection of individuals performing certain 

2 official duties 

3 ‘‘(a) Whoever knowingly makes restricted personal in4 formation about a covered official, or a member of the im5 mediate family of that covered official, publicly available, 

6 with the intent that such restricted personal information 

7 be used to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon, or to 

8 threaten to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon, that 

9 covered official, or a member of the immediate family of 

10 that covered official, shall be fined under this title and 

11 imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 

12 ‘‘(b) As used in this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘restricted personal information’ 

14 means, with respect to an individual, the Social Se15 curity number, the home address, home phone num16 ber, mobile phone number, personal email, or home 

17 fax number of, and identifiable to, that individual; 

18 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered official’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) an individual designated in section 

20 1114; 

21 ‘‘(B) a Federal judge or Federal law en22 forcement officer as those terms are defined in 

23 section 1521; or 

24 ‘‘(C) a grand or petit juror, witness, or 

25 other officer in or of, any court of the United 

26 States, or an officer who may be serving at any 
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1 examination or other proceeding before any 

2 United States magistrate judge or other com3 mitting magistrate; and 

4 ‘‘(3) the term ‘immediate family’ has the same 

5 meaning given that term in section 115(c)(2).’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

7 for chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 117. Protection of individuals performing certain official duties.’’. 

9 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION OF POSSESSION OF DANGEROUS 

10 WEAPONS IN FEDERAL COURT FACILITIES. 

11 Section 930(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended by inserting ‘‘or other dangerous weapon’’ after 

13 ‘‘firearm’’. 

14 SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF VENUE FOR RETALIATION 

15 AGAINST A WITNESS. 

16 Section 1513 of title 18, United States Code, is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(g) A prosecution under this section may be brought 

19 in the district in which the official proceeding (whether 

20 or not pending, about to be instituted or completed) was 

21 intended to be affected, or in which the conduct consti22 tuting the alleged offense occurred.’’. 
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1 SEC. 9. WITNESS PROTECTION GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

3 Streets Act of 1968 is amended by inserting after part 

4 BB (42 U.S.C. 3797j et seq.) the following new part: 

5 ‘‘PART II—WITNESS PROTECTION GRANTS 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2995. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 

8 carry out this part, the Attorney General may make grants 

9 to States, units of local government, and Indian tribes to 

10 create and expand witness protection programs in order 

11 to prevent threats, intimidation, and retaliation against 

12 victims of, and witnesses to, crimes. 

13 ‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this 

14 part shall be— 

15 ‘‘(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of 

16 local government, or Indian tribe; and 

17 ‘‘(2) used for the creation and expansion of wit18 ness protection programs in the jurisdiction of the 

19 grantee. 

20 ‘‘(c) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding 

21 grants under this part, the Attorney General may give 

22 preferential consideration, if feasible, to an application 

23 from a jurisdiction that— 

24 ‘‘(1) has the greatest need for witness and vic25 tim protection programs; 
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1 ‘‘(2) has a serious violent crime problem in the 

2 jurisdiction; and 

3 ‘‘(3) has had, or is likely to have, instances of 

4 threats, intimidation, and retaliation against victims 

5 of, and witnesses to, crimes. 

6 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.’’. 

9 SEC. 10. GRANTS TO STATES TO PROTECT WITNESSES AND 

10 VICTIMS OF CRIMES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31702 of the Violent 

12 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 

13 U.S.C. 13862) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 

17 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(5) to create and expand witness and victim 

20 protection programs to prevent threats, intimidation, 

21 and retaliation against victims of, and witnesses to, 

22 violent crimes.’’. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

24 31707 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 
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1 Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13867) is amended to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 31707. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated 

5 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 

6 2010 to carry out this subtitle.’’. 

7 SEC. 11. ELIGIBILITY OF STATE COURTS FOR CERTAIN FED8 ERAL GRANTS. 

9 (a) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—Section 510(b) of the 

10 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 

11 U.S.C. 3760) is amended by inserting ‘‘State courts,’’ 

12 after ‘‘institutions,’’. 

13 (b) CORRECTIONAL OPTIONS GRANTS.—Section 515 

14 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

15 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3762a) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe20 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(4) grants to State courts to improve security 

23 for State and local court systems.’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting after the pe25 riod the following: 
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1 ‘‘Priority shall be given to State court applicants under 

2 subsection (a)(4) that have the greatest demonstrated 

3 need to provide security in order to administer justice.’’. 

4 (c) ALLOCATIONS.—Section 516(a) of the Omnibus 

5 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

6 3762b) is amended by— 

7 (1) striking ‘‘80’’ and inserting ‘‘70’’; 

8 (2) striking ‘‘and 10’’ and inserting ‘‘10’’; and 

9 (3) inserting before the period the following: ‘‘, 

10 and 10 percent for section 515(a)(4)’’. 

11 SEC. 12. UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VET12 ERANS CLAIMS. 

13 Section 7253(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘district courts’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Courts of Appeals’’. 

16 SEC. 13. BANKRUPTCY, MAGISTRATE, AND TERRITORIAL 

17 JUDGES LIFE INSURANCE. 

18 (a) BANKRUPTCY JUDGES.—Section 153 of title 28, 

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

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(e) For purposes of construing and applying chapter 

22 87 of title 5, United States Code, including any adjust23 ment of insurance rates by regulation or otherwise, a 

24 bankruptcy judge of the United States in regular active 

25 service or who is retired under section 377 of this title 
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1 shall be deemed to be a judge of the United States de2 scribed under section 8701(a)(5) of title 5.’’. 

3 (b) UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGES.—Section 

4 634(c) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(2) For purposes of construing and applying 

8 chapter 87 of title 5, United States Code, including 

9 any adjustment of insurance rates by regulation or 

10 otherwise, a magistrate judge of the United States 

11 in regular active service or who is retired under sec12 tion 377 of this title shall be deemed to be a judge 

13 of the United States described under section 

14 8701(a)(5) of title 5.’’. 

15 (c) TERRITORIAL JUDGES.— 

16 (1) GUAM.—Section 24 of the Organic Act of 

17 Guam (48 U.S.C. 1424b) is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(c) For purposes of construing and applying chapter 

20 87 of title 5, United States Code, including any adjust21 ment of insurance rates by regulation or otherwise, a 

22 judge appointed under this section who is in regular active 

23 service or who is retired under section 373 of title 28, 

24 United States Code, shall be deemed to be a judge of the 
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1 United States described under section 8701(a)(5) of title 

2 5.’’. 

3 (2) COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MAR4 IANA ISLANDS.—Section 1(b) of the Act of Novem5 ber 8, 1977 (48 U.S.C. 1821) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) For purposes of construing and applying 

8 chapter 87 of title 5, United States Code, including 

9 any adjustment of insurance rates by regulation or 

10 otherwise, a judge appointed under this section who 

11 is in regular active service or who is retired under 

12 section 373 of title 28, United States Code, shall be 

13 deemed to be a judge of the United States described 

14 under section 8701(a)(5) of title 5.’’. 

15 (3) VIRGIN ISLANDS.—Section 24(a) of the Re16 vised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands (48 U.S.C. 

17 1614(a)) is amended— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) For purposes of construing and applying 

21 chapter 87 of title 5, United States Code, including 

22 any adjustment of insurance rates by regulation or 

23 otherwise, a judge appointed under this section who 

24 is in regular active service or who is retired under 

25 section 373 of title 28, United States Code, shall be 
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1 deemed to be a judge of the United States described 

2 under section 8701(a)(5) of title 5.’’. 

3 SEC. 14. HEALTH INSURANCE FOR SURVIVING FAMILY AND 

4 SPOUSES OF JUDGES. 

5 Section 8901(3) of title 5, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

8 and inserting a semicolon; 

9 (2) in subparagraph (D), by adding ‘‘and’’ after 

10 the semicolon; and 

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

12 ‘‘(E) a member of a family who is a sur13 vivor of— 

14 ‘‘(i) a Justice or judge of the United 

15 States, as defined under section 451 of 

16 title 28, United States Code; 

17 ‘‘(ii) a judge of the District Court of 

18 Guam, the District Court of the Northern 

19 Mariana Islands, or the District Court of 

20 the Virgin Islands; 

21 ‘‘(iii) a judge of the United States 

22 Court of Federal Claims; or 
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1 ‘‘(iv) a United States bankruptcy 

2 judge or a full-time United States mag3 istrate judge.’’. 

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