I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1289 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2009 

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To improve title 18 of the United States Code. 

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


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
2 

S 1289 RFH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Evidence Re3 quest Efficiency Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO TITLE 18. 

5 Title 18 of the United States Code is amended— 

6 (1) in section 2703— 

7 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘by a 

8 court with jurisdiction over the offense under 

9 investigation or an equivalent State warrant’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of a State court, 

11 issued using State warrant procedures) by a 

12 court of competent jurisdiction’’; 

13 (B) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking 

14 ‘‘by a court with jurisdiction over the offense 

15 under investigation or an equivalent State war16 rant’’ and inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of a State 

17 court, issued using State warrant procedures) 

18 by a court of competent jurisdiction’’; and 

19 (C) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘by 

20 a court with jurisdiction over the offense under 

21 investigation or an equivalent State warrant’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of a State court, 

23 issued using State warrant procedures) by a 

24 court of competent jurisdiction’’; 

25 (2) in section 2711(3), by striking ‘‘has the 

26 meaning assigned by section 3127, and includes any 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
3 

S 1289 RFH

1 Federal court within that definition, without geo2 graphic limitation; and’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) any district court of the United 

5 States (including a magistrate judge of such a 

6 court) or any United States court of appeals 

7 that— 

8 ‘‘(i) has jurisdiction over the offense 

9 being investigated; 

10 ‘‘(ii) is in or for a district in which the 

11 provider of a wire or electronic communica12 tion service is located or in which the wire 

13 or electronic communications, records, or 

14 other information are stored; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) is acting on a request for foreign 

16 assistance pursuant to section 3512 of this 

17 title; or 

18 ‘‘(B) a court of general criminal jurisdic19 tion of a State authorized by the law of that 

20 State to issue search warrants; and’’; 

21 (3) in section 3127(2)(A), by striking ‘‘having 

22 jurisdiction over the offense being investigated;’’ and 

23 inserting the following: ‘‘that— 

24 ‘‘(i) has jurisdiction over the offense 

25 being investigated; 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
4 

S 1289 RFH

1 ‘‘(ii) is in or for a district in which the 

2 provider of a wire or electronic communica3 tion service is located; 

4 ‘‘(iii) is in or for a district in which a 

5 landlord, custodian, or other person subject 

6 to subsections (a) or (b) of section 3124 of 

7 this title is located; or 

8 ‘‘(iv) is acting on a request for foreign 

9 assistance pursuant to section 3512 of this 

10 title;’’; 

11 (4) in chapter 223, by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘§ 3512. Foreign requests for assistance in criminal 

14 investigations and prosecutions 

15 ‘‘(a) EXECUTION OF REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application, duly au17 thorized by an appropriate official of the Depart18 ment of Justice, of an attorney for the Government, 

19 a Federal judge may issue such orders as may be 

20 necessary to execute a request from a foreign au21 thority for assistance in the investigation or prosecu22 tion of criminal offenses, or in proceedings related to 

23 the prosecution of criminal offenses, including pro24 ceedings regarding forfeiture, sentencing, and res25 titution. 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
5 

S 1289 RFH

1 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF ORDERS.—Any order issued by 

2 a Federal judge pursuant to paragraph (1) may in3 clude the issuance of— 

4 ‘‘(A) a search warrant, as provided under 

5 Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Pro6 cedure; 

7 ‘‘(B) a warrant or order for contents of 

8 stored wire or electronic communications or for 

9 records related thereto, as provided under sec10 tion 2703 of this title; 

11 ‘‘(C) an order for a pen register or trap 

12 and trace device as provided under section 3123 

13 of this title; or 

14 ‘‘(D) an order requiring the appearance of 

15 a person for the purpose of providing testimony 

16 or a statement, or requiring the production of 

17 documents or other things, or both. 

18 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT OF PERSONS TO TAKE TESTI19 MONY OR STATEMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In response to an applica21 tion for execution of a request from a foreign au22 thority as described under subsection (a), a Federal 

23 judge may also issue an order appointing a person 

24 to direct the taking of testimony or statements or of 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
6 

S 1289 RFH

1 the production of documents or other things, or 

2 both. 

3 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF APPOINTED PERSON.—Any 

4 person appointed under an order issued pursuant to 

5 paragraph (1) may— 

6 ‘‘(A) issue orders requiring the appearance 

7 of a person, or the production of documents or 

8 other things, or both; 

9 ‘‘(B) administer any necessary oath; and 

10 ‘‘(C) take testimony or statements and re11 ceive documents or other things. 

12 ‘‘(c) FILING OF REQUESTS.—Except as provided 

13 under subsection (d), an application for execution of a re14 quest from a foreign authority under this section may be 

15 filed— 

16 ‘‘(1) in the district in which a person who may 

17 be required to appear resides or is located or in 

18 which the documents or things to be produced are 

19 located; 

20 ‘‘(2) in cases in which the request seeks the ap21 pearance of persons or production of documents or 

22 things that may be located in multiple districts, in 

23 any one of the districts in which such a person, doc24 uments, or things may be located; or 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
7 

S 1289 RFH

1 ‘‘(3) in any case, the district in which a related 

2 Federal criminal investigation or prosecution is 

3 being conducted, or in the District of Columbia. 

4 ‘‘(d) SEARCH WARRANT LIMITATION.—An applica5 tion for execution of a request for a search warrant from 

6 a foreign authority under this section, other than an appli7 cation for a warrant issued as provided under section 2703 

8 of this title, shall be filed in the district in which the place 

9 or person to be searched is located. 

10 ‘‘(e) SEARCH WARRANT STANDARD.—A Federal 

11 judge may issue a search warrant under this section only 

12 if the foreign offense for which the evidence is sought in13 volves conduct that, if committed in the United States, 

14 would be considered an offense punishable by imprison15 ment for more than one year under Federal or State law. 

16 ‘‘(f) SERVICE OF ORDER OR WARRANT.—Except as 

17 provided under subsection (d), an order or warrant issued 

18 pursuant to this section may be served or executed in any 

19 place in the United States. 

20 ‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec21 tion shall be construed to preclude any foreign authority 

22 or an interested person from obtaining assistance in a 

23 criminal investigation or prosecution pursuant to section 

24 1782 of title 28, United States Code. 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
8 

S 1289 RFH

1 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the fol2 lowing definitions shall apply: 

3 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL JUDGE.—The terms ‘Federal 

4 judge’ and ‘attorney for the Government’ have the 

5 meaning given such terms for the purposes of the 

6 Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. 

7 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN AUTHORITY.—The term ‘foreign 

8 authority’ means a foreign judicial authority, a for9 eign authority responsible for the investigation or 

10 prosecution of criminal offenses or for proceedings 

11 related to the prosecution of criminal offenses, or an 

12 authority designated as a competent authority or 

13 central authority for the purpose of making requests 

14 for assistance pursuant to an agreement or treaty 

15 with the United States regarding assistance in crimi16 nal matters.’’; and 

17 (5) in the table of sections for chapter 223, by 

18 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3512. Foreign requests for assistance in criminal investigations and prosecutions.’’. 

Passed the Senate July 10, 2009. 

Attest: NANCY ERICKSON, 

Secretary. 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS