I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1751

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

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2005

Mr. GOHMERT (for himself and Mr. WEINER) introduced the following bill; 

which was 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 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure Access to Jus5 tice and Court Protection Act of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. PENALTIES FOR INFLUENCING, IMPEDING, OR RE2 TALIATING AGAINST JUDGES AND OTHER OF3 FICIALS BY THREATENING OR INJURING A 

4 FAMILY MEMBER. 

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

6 amended—

7 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘as8 saults, kidnaps, or murders, or attempts or conspires 

9 to kidnap or murder, or’’ after ‘‘(B)’’; and 

10 (2) so that subsection (b) reads as follows: 

11 ‘‘(b)(1) The punishment for an assault in violation 

12 of this section is a fine under this title and—

13 ‘‘(A) if the assault consists of a simple assault, 

14 a term of imprisonment for not more than one year, 

15 or both; 

16 ‘‘(B) if the assault resulted in bodily injury (as 

17 defined in section 1365), a term of imprisonment for 

18 not less than 5 nor more than 20 years; 

19 ‘‘(C) if the assault resulted in serious bodily in20 jury (as defined in section 1365), a term of impris21 onment for any term of years not less than 10 or 

22 life; 

23 ‘‘(D) if a dangerous weapon was used or pos24 sessed during and in relation to the offense, a term 

25 of imprisonment for any term of years not less than 

26 15 nor life; and 
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1 ‘‘(E) in any other case, not less than 2 nor 

2 more than 10 years. 

3 ‘‘(2) The punishment for a kidnaping, attempted kid4 napping, or conspiracy to kidnap in violation of this sec5 tion is a fine under this title and imprisonment for any 

6 term of years not less than 30, or for life. 

7 ‘‘(3) The punishment for a murder, attempted mur8 der, or conspiracy to murder in violation of this section 

9 is a fine under this title and imprisonment for any term 

10 of years not less than 30, or for life, or the death penalty. 

11 ‘‘(4) A threat made in violation of this section shall 

12 be punished by a fine under this title and imprisonment 

13 for a term of not less than 5 years nor more than 20 years. 

14 ‘‘(5) Each punishment for criminal conduct under 

15 this section shall be in addition to any other punishment, 

16 whether imposed for a conviction under this section or oth17 erwise, for other criminal conduct during the same crimi18 nal episode.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF FEDERALLY FUNDED PUBLIC 

20 SAFETY OFFICERS. 

21 (a) OFFENSE.—Chapter 51 of title 18, United States 

22 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 1123. Killing of federally funded public safety offi2 cers 

3 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—Whoever kills, or attempts or con4 spires to kill, a federally funded public safety officer while 

5 that officer is engaged in official duties, or arising out of 

6 the performance of official duties, or kills a former feder7 ally funded public safety officer arising out of the perform8 ance of official duties, shall be punished as is provided 

9 in this chapter for the like offense against a person des10 ignated in section 1114. Any other killing or attempted 

11 killing or conspiracy to kill that occurs in the same crimi12 nal episode shall also be subject to the punishment pro13 vided in this chapter for the like offense against a person 

14 designated in section 1114. 

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section—

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘federally funded public safety of17 ficer’ means a public safety officer for a public agen18 cy (including a court system) that receives Federal 

19 financial assistance, of an entity that is a State of 

20 the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

21 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of 

22 the United States, Guam, American Samoa, the 

23 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Common24 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any ter25 ritory or possession of the United States, an Indian 

26 tribe, or a unit of local government of that entity; 
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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘public safety officer’ means an 

2 individual serving a public agency in an official ca3 pacity, with or without compensation, as a judicial 

4 officer, as a firefighter, as a chaplain, or as a mem5 ber of a rescue squad or ambulance crew; 

6 ‘‘(3) the term ‘judicial officer’ means a judge or 

7 other officer or employee of a court, including pros8 ecutors, court security, and corrections, probation, 

9 and parole officers; and 

10 ‘‘(4) the term ‘firefighter’ includes an individual 

11 serving as an official recognized or designated mem12 ber of a legally organized volunteer fire department 

13 and an officially recognized or designated public em14 ployee member of a rescue squad or ambulance 

15 crew.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 at the beginning of chapter 51 of title 18, United States 

18 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

19 item:

‘‘1123. Killing of federally public safety officers.’’.

20 SEC. 4. GENERAL MODIFICATIONS OF FEDERAL MURDER 

21 CRIME AND RELATED CRIMES. 

22 (a) MURDER AMENDMENTS.—Section 1111 of title 

23 18, United States Code, is amended—

24 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘not less 

25 than 30’’ after ‘‘any term of years’’; and 
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1 (2) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (4). 

2 (b) MANSLAUGHTER AMENDMENTS.—Section 

3 1112(b) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘ten years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 

5 years’’; and 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘six years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 

7 years’’. 

8 (c) ATTEMPT AMENDMENT.—Section 1113 of title 

9 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘shall, for 

10 an attempt to commit murder’’ and all that follows 

11 through the period at the end of the section and inserting 

12 ‘‘shall be punished as is provided for a completed offense.’’

13 (d) CONSPIRACY AMENDMENT.—Section 1117 of title 

14 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘by im15 prisonment for any term of years or for life’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘as is provided for the violation which is the object of the 

17 conspiracy’’. 

18 SEC. 5. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF OFFENSE AND 

19 OF THE PENALTIES FOR, INFLUENCING OR 

20 INJURING OFFICER OR JUROR GENERALLY. 

21 Section 1503 of title 18, United States Code, is 

22 amended—

23 (1) so that subsection (a) reads as follows: 

24 ‘‘(a)(1) Whoever—
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1 ‘‘(A) corruptly, or by threats of force or force, 

2 endeavors to influence, intimidate, or impede a juror 

3 or officer in a judicial proceeding in the discharge of 

4 that juror or officer’s duty; 

5 ‘‘(B) injures a juror or an officer in a judicial 

6 proceeding arising out of the performance of official 

7 duties as such juror or officer; or 

8 ‘‘(C) corruptly, or by threats of force or force, 

9 obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, ob10 struct, or impede, the due administration of justice; 

11 or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in sub12 section (b). 

13 ‘‘(2) As used in this section, the term ‘juror or officer 

14 in a judicial proceeding’ means a grand or petit juror, or 

15 other officer in or of any court of the United States, or 

16 an officer who may be serving at any examination or other 

17 proceeding before any United States magistrate judge or 

18 other committing magistrate.’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (b)—

20 (A) in paragraph (2)—

21 (i) by striking ‘‘class A or B’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘not more than 20 

23 years, a fine under this title, or both’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘for any term of years not less 
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1 than 20, or for life, and a fine under this 

2 title’’; and 

3 (B) so that paragraph (3) reads as follows: 

4 ‘‘(3) in any other case, a fine under this title 

5 and imprisonment for not less than 10 years nor 

6 more than 30 years.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF TAMPERING WITH A WITNESS, 

8 VICTIM, OR AN INFORMANT OFFENSE. 

9 (a) CHANGES IN PENALTIES.—Section 1512 of title 

10 18, United States Code, is amended—

11 (1) in subsection (a)(3)—

12 (A) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

13 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘not 

14 more than 10 years’’ and inserting ‘‘not less 

15 than 5 years nor more than 20 years’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘or impris17 oned not more than ten years, or both’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘not less than 5 years nor more than 20 years’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘or imprisoned 

20 not more than twenty years, or both’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘and imprisoned not less than 5 years nor more 

22 than 20 years’’; 

23 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘or impris24 oned not more than one year, or both’’ and inserting 
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1 ‘‘and imprisoned not less than 5 years nor more 

2 than 20 years’’; and 

3 (5) in subsection (k)—

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘attempts or’’ before 

5 ‘‘conspires’’; and 

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘attempted or’’ before 

7 ‘‘the commission’’. 

8 SEC. 7. MODIFICATION OF RETALIATION OFFENSE. 

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

10 amended—

11 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)—

12 (A) by inserting a comma after ‘‘proba13 tion’’; and 

14 (B) by striking the comma which imme15 diately follows another comma; 

16 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking subpara17 graph (B); 

18 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘or impris19 oned not more than ten years, or both’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘and imprisoned not less than 10 years nor 

21 more than 30 years’’; 

22 (4) in the first subsection (e), by striking ‘‘or 

23 imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both’’ and in24 serting ‘‘and imprisoned not less than 10 years nor 

25 more than 30 years’’; 
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1 (5) by redesignating the second subsection (e) 

2 as subsection (f); and 

3 (6) in subsection (f) as so redesignated by para4 graph (5)—

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘attempts or’’ before 

6 ‘‘conspires’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘attempted or’’ before 

8 ‘‘the commission’’. 

9 SEC. 8. INCLUSION OF INTIMIDATION AND RETALIATION 

10 AGAINST WITNESSES IN STATE PROSECU11 TIONS AS BASIS FOR FEDERAL PROSECU12 TION. 

13 Section 1952 of title 18, United States Code, is 

14 amended in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ‘‘intimidation 

15 of, or retaliation against, a witness, victim, juror, or in16 formant,’’ after ‘‘extortion, bribery,’’. 

17 SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF VENUE FOR RETALIATION 

18 AGAINST A WITNESS. 

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

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

22 in the district in which the official proceeding (whether 

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

24 was intended to be affected or was completed, or in which 

25 the conduct constituting the alleged offense occurred.’’. 
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1 SEC. 10. ENSURING FAIR AND EXPEDITIOUS FEDERAL COL2 LATERAL REVIEW OF CONVICTIONS FOR 

3 KILLING A STATE JUDGE OR OTHER PUBLIC 

4 SAFETY OFFICER. 

5 (a) LIMITS ON CASES.—Section 2254 of title 28, 

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

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(j)(1) A court, justice, or judge shall not have juris9 diction to consider any claim relating to the judgment or 

10 sentence in an application described under paragraph (2), 

11 unless the applicant shows that the claim qualifies for con12 sideration on the grounds described in subsection (e)(2). 

13 Any such application that is presented to a court, justice, 

14 or judge other than a district court shall be transferred 

15 to the appropriate district court for consideration or dis16 missal in conformity with this subsection, except that a 

17 court of appeals panel must authorize any second or suc18 cessive application in conformity with section 2244 before 

19 any consideration by the district court. 

20 ‘‘(2) This subsection applies to an application for a 

21 writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody 

22 pursuant to the judgment of a State court for a crime 

23 that involved the killing of a public safety officer while 

24 the public safety officer was engaged in the performance 

25 of official duties, or arising out of the public safety offi-
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1 cer’s performance of official duties or status as a public 

2 safety officer. 

3 ‘‘(3) For an application described in paragraph (2), 

4 the following requirements shall apply in the district court: 

5 ‘‘(A) Any motion by either party for an evi6 dentiary hearing shall be filed and served not later 

7 than 90 days after the State files its answer or, if 

8 no timely answer is filed, the date on which such an9 swer is due. 

10 ‘‘(B) Any motion for an evidentiary hearing 

11 shall be granted or denied not later than 30 days 

12 after the date on which the party opposing such mo13 tion files a pleading in opposition to such motion or, 

14 if no timely pleading in opposition is filed, the date 

15 on which such pleading in opposition is due. 

16 ‘‘(C) Any evidentiary hearing shall be—

17 ‘‘(i) convened not less than 60 days after 

18 the order granting such hearing; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) completed not more than 150 days 

20 after the order granting such hearing. 

21 ‘‘(D) A district court shall enter a final order, 

22 granting or denying the application for a writ of ha23 beas corpus, not later than 15 months after the date 

24 on which the State files its answer or, if no timely 

25 answer is filed, the date on which such answer is 
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1 due, or not later than 60 days after the case is sub2 mitted for decision, whichever is earlier. 

3 ‘‘(E) If the district court fails to comply with 

4 the requirements of this paragraph, the State may 

5 petition the court of appeals for a writ of mandamus 

6 to enforce the requirements. The court of appeals 

7 shall grant or deny the petition for a writ of man8 damus not later than 30 days after such petition is 

9 filed with the court. 

10 ‘‘(4) For an application described in paragraph (2), 

11 the following requirements shall apply in the court of ap12 peals: 

13 ‘‘(A) A timely filed notice of appeal from an 

14 order issuing a writ of habeas corpus shall operate 

15 as a stay of that order pending final disposition of 

16 the appeal. 

17 ‘‘(B) The court of appeals shall decide the ap18 peal from an order granting or denying a writ of ha19 beas corpus—

20 ‘‘(i) not later than 120 days after the date 

21 on which the brief of the appellee is filed or, if 

22 no timely brief is filed, the date on which such 

23 brief is due; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) if a cross-appeal is filed, not later 

25 than 120 days after the date on which the ap-
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1 pellant files a brief in response to the issues 

2 presented by the cross-appeal or, if no timely 

3 brief is filed, the date on which such brief is 

4 due. 

5 ‘‘(C)(i) Following a decision by a panel of the 

6 court of appeals under subparagraph (B), a petition 

7 for panel rehearing is not allowed, but rehearing by 

8 the court of appeals en banc may be requested. The 

9 court of appeals shall decide whether to grant a peti10 tion for rehearing en banc not later than 30 days 

11 after the date on which the petition is filed, unless 

12 a response is required, in which case the court shall 

13 decide whether to grant the petition not later than 

14 30 days after the date on which the response is filed 

15 or, if no timely response is filed, the date on which 

16 the response is due. 

17 ‘‘(ii) If rehearing en banc is granted, the court 

18 of appeals shall make a final determination of the 

19 appeal not later than 120 days after the date on 

20 which the order granting rehearing en banc is en21 tered. 

22 ‘‘(D) If the court of appeals fails to comply 

23 with the requirements of this paragraph, the State 

24 may petition the Supreme Court or a justice thereof 

25 for a writ of mandamus to enforce the requirements. 
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1 ‘‘(5)(A) The time limitations under paragraphs (3) 

2 and (4) shall apply to an initial application described in 

3 paragraph (2), any second or successive application de4 scribed in paragraph (2), and any redetermination of an 

5 application described in paragraph (2) or related appeal 

6 following a remand by the court of appeals or the Supreme 

7 Court for further proceedings. 

8 ‘‘(B) In proceedings following remand in the district 

9 court, time limits running from the time the State files 

10 its answer under paragraph (3) shall run from the date 

11 the remand is ordered if further briefing is not required 

12 in the district court. If there is further briefing following 

13 remand in the district court, such time limits shall run 

14 from the date on which a responsive brief is filed or, if 

15 no timely responsive brief is filed, the date on which such 

16 brief is due. 

17 ‘‘(C) In proceedings following remand in the court of 

18 appeals, the time limit specified in paragraph (4)(B) shall 

19 run from the date the remand is ordered if further briefing 

20 is not required in the court of appeals. If there is further 

21 briefing in the court of appeals, the time limit specified 

22 in paragraph (4)(B) shall run from the date on which a 

23 responsive brief is filed or, if no timely responsive brief 

24 is filed, from the date on which such brief is due. 
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1 ‘‘(6) The failure of a court to meet or comply with 

2 a time limitation under this subsection shall not be a 

3 ground for granting relief from a judgment of conviction 

4 or sentence, nor shall the time limitations under this sub5 section be construed to entitle a capital applicant to a stay 

6 of execution, to which the applicant would otherwise not 

7 be entitled, for the purpose of litigating any application 

8 or appeal. 

9 ‘‘(7) In this subsection—

10 ‘‘(A) the term ‘public safety officer’ has the 

11 meaning given such term in section 1123 of title 18 

12 and also includes a law enforcement officer; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 

14 an individual involved in crime and juvenile delin15 quency control or reduction, or enforcement of the 

16 laws, including police, prosecutors, corrections, pro17 bation, parole, and judicial officers.’’. 

18 (b) APPLICATION TO PENDING CASES.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

20 subsection (a) applies to cases pending on the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act as well as to cases com22 menced on and after that date. 

23 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR TIME LIMITS.—In a 

24 case pending on the date of the enactment of this 

25 Act, if the amendment made by subsection (a) pro-
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1 vides that a time limit runs from an event or time 

2 that has occurred before that date, the time limit 

3 shall instead run from that date. 

4 SEC. 11. WITNESS PROTECTION GRANT PROGRAM. 

5 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

6 Streets Act of 1968 is amended by inserting after part 

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

8 ‘‘PART CC—WITNESS PROTECTION GRANTS 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2811. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

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

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

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

13 create and expand witness protection programs in order 

14 to prevent threats, intimidation, and retaliation against 

15 victims of, and witnesses to, crimes. 

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

17 part shall be—

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

19 local government, or Indian tribe; and 

20 ‘‘(2) used for the creation and expansion of wit21 ness protection programs in the jurisdiction of the 

22 grantee. 

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

24 grants under this part, the Attorney General may give 
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1 preferential consideration, if feasible, to an application 

2 from a jurisdiction that—

3 ‘‘(1) has the greatest need for witness and vic4 tim protection programs; 

5 ‘‘(2) has a serious violent crime problem in the 

6 jurisdiction; and 

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

8 threats, intimidation, and retaliation against victims 

9 of, and witnesses to, crimes. 

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

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.’’. 

13 SEC. 12. GRANTS TO STATES TO PROTECT WITNESSES AND 

14 VICTIMS OF CRIMES. 

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

16 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 

17 U.S.C. 13862) is amended—

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

19 end; 

20 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

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

24 protection programs to prevent threats, intimidation, 
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1 and retaliation against victims of, and witnesses to, 

2 violent crimes.’’. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

4 31707 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 

5 Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13867) is amended to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 31707. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated 

9 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 

10 2010 to carry out this subtitle.’’. 

11 SEC. 13. JUDICIAL BRANCH SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. 

12 (a) ENSURING CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION

13 WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED

14 STATES COURTS.—Section 566 of title 28, United States 

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

16 ‘‘(i) The United States Marshals Service shall consult 

17 and coordinate with the Administrative Office of the 

18 United States Courts on a continuing basis regarding the 

19 security requirements for the Judicial Branch.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 604(a) of 

21 title 28, United States Code, is amended—

22 (1) by redesignating existing paragraph (24) as 

23 paragraph (25); 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

25 (23); and 
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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (23) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(24) Consult and coordinate with the United 

4 States Marshals Service on a continuing basis re5 garding the security requirements for the Judicial 

6 Branch; and’’. 

7 SEC. 14. PROTECTIONS AGAINST MALICIOUS RECORDING 

8 OF FICTITIOUS LIENS AGAINST FEDERAL 

9 JUDGES AND ATTORNEYS. 

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

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

12 ‘‘§ 1521. Retaliating against a federal judge or attor13 ney by false 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, Federal at18 torney, or a public safety officer, shall be fined under this 

19 title or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both. 

20 ‘‘(b) As used in this section—

21 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Federal judge’ means a justice 

22 or judge of the United States as defined in 28 

23 U.S.C. § 451, a judge of the United States Court of 

24 Federal Claims, a United States bankruptcy judge, 

25 a United States magistrate judge, and a judge of the 
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1 United States Court of Appeals for the Armed 

2 Forces, United States Court of Appeals for Veterans 

3 Claims, United States Tax Court, District Court of 

4 Guam, District Court of the Northern Mariana Is5 lands, or District Court of the Virgin Islands; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Federal attorney’ means an at7 torney who is an officer or employee of the United 

8 States in the executive branch of the Government; 

9 ‘‘(3) the term ‘public safety officer’ has the 

10 meaning given that term in section 1123 of title 18 

11 and also includes a law enforcement officer; and 

12 ‘‘(4) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 

13 an individual involved in crime and juvenile delin14 quency control or reduction, or enforcement of the 

15 laws, including police, prosecutors, corrections, pro16 bation, parole, and judicial officers.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

18 at the beginning of chapter 73 of title 18, United States 

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

20 item:

‘‘1521. Retaliating against a federal judge or attorney by false claim or slander 

of title.’’.
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1 SEC. 15. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT COURT 

2 PROCEEDINGS OUTSIDE THE TERRITORIAL 

3 JURISDICTION OF THE COURT. 

4 (a) CIRCUIT COURTS.—Section 48 of title 28, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(e) Each court of appeals may hold special sessions 

8 at any place outside the circuit as the nature of the busi9 ness may require and upon such notice as the court orders, 

10 upon a finding by either the chief judge of the court of 

11 appeals (or, if the chief judge is unavailable, the most sen12 ior available active judge of the court of appeals) or the 

13 judicial council of the circuit that, because of emergency 

14 conditions, no location within the circuit is reasonably 

15 available where such special sessions could he held. The 

16 court may transact any business at a special session out17 side the circuit which it might transact at a regular ses18 sion.’’. 

19 (b) DISTRICT COURTS.—Section 141 of title 28, 

20 United States Code, is amended—

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)(1)’’ before ‘‘Special’’; 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘(2)’’ before ‘‘Any’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(b) Special sessions of the district court may be held 

25 at such places outside the district as the nature of the 

26 business may require and upon such notice as the court 
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1 orders, upon a finding by either the chief judge of the dis2 trict court (or, if the chief judge is unavailable, the most 

3 senior available active judge of the district court) or the 

4 judicial council of the circuit that, because of emergency 

5 conditions, no location within the district is reasonably 

6 available where such special sessions could be held. Any 

7 business may be transacted at a special session outside 

8 the district which might be transacted at a regular session. 

9 The district court may summon jurors from within the dis10 trict to serve in any case in which special sessions are con11 ducted outside the district pursuant to the provisions of 

12 this section.’’. 

13 (c) BANKRUPTCY COURTS.—Section 152(c) of title 

14 28, United States Code, is amended—

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; 

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

17 ‘‘(2) Bankruptcy judges may hold court at such 

18 places outside the judicial district as the nature of 

19 the business of the court may require, and upon 

20 such notice as the court orders, upon a finding by 

21 either the chief judge of the bankruptcy court (or, 

22 if the chief judge is unavailable, the most senior 

23 available bankruptcy judge) or by the judicial council 

24 of the circuit that, because of emergency conditions, 

25 no location within the district is reasonably available 
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1 where the bankruptcy judges could hold court. 

2 Bankruptcy judges may transact any business at 

3 special sessions of court held outside the district 

4 that might be transacted at a regular session.’’. 

5 SEC. 16. PROHIBITION OF POSSESSION OF DANGEROUS 

6 WEAPONS IN FEDERAL COURT FACILITIES. 

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

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

9 ‘‘firearm’’. 

10 SEC. 17. REPEAL OF SUNSET PROVISION. 

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

12 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App) is amended by striking subpara13 graph (E). 

14 SEC. 18. PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUALS PERFORMING CER15 TAIN FEDERAL AND FEDERALLY ASSISTED 

16 FUNCTIONS. 

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

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

19 ‘‘§ 117. Protection of individuals performing certain 

20 Federal and federally assisted functions 

21 ‘‘(a) Whoever knowingly makes restricted personal in22 formation about a covered official publicly available 

23 through the Internet shall be fined under this title and 

24 imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 
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1 ‘‘(b) It is a defense to a prosecution under this sec2 tion that—

3 ‘‘(1) the defendant is a provider of Internet 

4 services and did not knowingly participate in the of5 fense; or 

6 ‘‘(2) the covered official gave permission to 

7 make the restricted personal information publicly 

8 available. 

9 ‘‘(c) As used in this section—

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

11 means, with respect to an individual, the Social Se12 curity number, the home address, home phone num13 ber, mobile phone number, personal email, or home 

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

15 and 

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

17 ‘‘(A) an individual designated in section 

18 1114; 

19 ‘‘(B) a public safety officer (as that term 

20 is defined in section 1521); or 

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

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

23 States, or an officer who may be serving at any 

24 examination or other proceeding before any 
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1 United States magistrate judge or other com2 mitting magistrate.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 at the beginning of chapter 7 of title 18, United States 

5 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 item:

‘‘117. Protection of individuals performing certain Federal and federally assisted functions.’’.

7 SEC. 19. 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. 3760) 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 
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1 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting after the pe2 riod the following: ‘‘Priority shall be given to State 

3 court applicants under subsection (a)(4) that have 

4 the greatest demonstrated need to provide security 

5 in order to administer justice.’’. 

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

7 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended—

8 (1) strike ‘‘80’’ and insert ‘‘70’’; 

9 (2) strike ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘10’’; and 

10 (3) by inserting before the period the following: 

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

12 SEC. 20. APPOINTMENTS OF UNITED STATES MARSHALS. 

13 (a) APPOINTMENTS OF MARSHALS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 37 of title 28, 

15 United States Code, is amended—

16 (A) in section 561(c)—

17 (i) by striking ‘‘The President shall 

18 appoint, by and with the advice and con19 sent of the Senate,’’ and inserting ‘‘The 

20 Attorney General shall appoint’’; and 

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘United States mar22 shals shall be appointed subject to the pro23 visions of title 5 governing appointments in 

24 the competitive civil service, and shall be 

25 paid in accordance with the provisions of 
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1 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 

2 53 of such title relating to classification 

3 and pay rates.’’ after the first sentence; 

4 (B) by striking subsection (d) of section 

5 561; 

6 (C) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), 

7 (g), (h), and (i) of section 561 as subsections 

8 (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h), respectively; and 

9 (D) by striking section 562. 

10 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions for chapter 37 of title 28, United States Code, 

12 is amended by striking the item relating to section 

13 562. 

14 (b) MARSHALS IN OFFICE BEFORE EFFECTIVE

15 DATE.—Notwithstanding the amendments made by this 

16 Act, each marshal appointed under chapter 37 of title 28, 

17 United States Code, before the effective date of this Act 

18 shall, unless that marshal resigns or is removed by the 

19 President, continue to perform the duties of that office 

20 until the expiration of that marshal’s term and the ap21 pointment of a successor. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend23 ments made by this section shall take effect on January 
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1 20, 2005, and shall apply to appointments made on and 

2 after that date.

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