II 

Calendar No. 199 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2633 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

OCTOBER 17, 2011 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, without amendment 

AN ACT 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to clarify the time 

limits for appeals in civil cases 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 


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1 Procedure provide that the time to appeal for most 

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

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

4 action include the United States, a United States of5 ficer, or a United States agency; 

6 (2) the 60-day period should apply if 1 of the 

7 parties is— 

8 (A) the United States; 

9 (B) a United States agency; 

10 (C) a United States officer or employee 

11 sued in an official capacity; or 

12 (D) a current or former United States offi13 cer or employee sued in an individual capacity 

14 for an act or omission occurring in connection 

15 with duties performed on behalf of the United 

16 States; 

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

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

19 Procedure (as amended to take effect on December 

20 1, 2011, in accordance with section 2074 of that 

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

22 those civil actions relating to a Federal officer or 

23 employee sued in an individual capacity for an act 

24 or omission occurring in connection with Federal du25 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 IN CERTAIN CASES. 

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

24 amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘order or decree’’ each 

2 place it appears and inserting ‘‘order, or de3 cree’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘suit or proceeding’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘suit, or proceeding’’; and 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘filed, within thirty’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘filed within 30’’; and 

8 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol9 lows: 

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

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

12 of the parties is— 

13 ‘‘(1) the United States; 

14 ‘‘(2) an agency of the United States; 

15 ‘‘(3) an officer or employee of the United States 

16 who is sued in an official capacity; or 

17 ‘‘(4) a current or former officer or employee of 

18 the United States who is sued in an individual ca19 pacity for an act or omission occurring in connection 

20 with duties performed on behalf of the United 

21 States, including any instance in which the United 

22 States represents that person when the judgment, 

23 order, or decree is entered or files the appeal for 

24 that person.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

3 on December 1, 2011. 


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Calendar No. 199 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2633 

AN ACT 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to clarify 

United States officers or employees are parties. the time limits for appeals in civil cases to which 

OCTOBER 17, 2011 

Reported without amendment 


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