IB 
Union Calendar No. 202 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3729 
[Report No. 109–371] 
To provide emergency authority to delay or toll judicial proceedings in United 
States district and circuit courts. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2005 
Mr. SENSENBRENNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
FEBRUARY 8, 2006 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 13, 2005] 
A BILL 
To provide emergency authority to delay or toll judicial 
proceedings in United States district and circuit courts. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Judiciary 
Emergency Tolling Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY TO DELAY OR TOLL JUDI-
CIAL PROCEEDINGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 111 of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 1660. Emergency authority to delay or toll judicial 
deadlines 
‘‘(a) TOLLING IN DISTRICT COURTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a natural 
disaster or other emergency situation requiring the 
closure of courts or rendering it impracticable for the 
United States Government or a class of litigants to 
comply with deadlines imposed by any Federal or 
State law or rule that applies in the courts of the 
United States, the chief judge of a district court that 
has been affected may exercise emergency authority in 
accordance with this section. 
‘‘(2) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.—(A) The chief judge 
may enter such order or orders as may be appropriate 
to delay, toll, or otherwise grant relief from the time 
deadlines imposed by otherwise applicable laws or 
rules for such period as may be appropriate for any 
class of cases pending or thereafter filed in the district 
court or bankruptcy court of the district. 
‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), 
the authority conferred by this section extends to all 
laws and rules affecting criminal and juvenile pro-
ceedings (including, prearrest, post-arrest, pretrial, 
trial, and post-trial procedures), civil actions, bank-
ruptcy proceedings, and the time for filing and per-
fecting an appeal. 
‘‘(C) The authority conferred by this section does 
not include the authority to extend— 
‘‘(i) any statute of limitation for a criminal 
action; or 
‘‘(ii) any statute of limitation for a civil 
action, if— 
‘‘(I) the claim arises under the laws of 
a State; and 
‘‘(II) extending the limitations period 
would be inconsistent with the governing 
State law. 
‘‘(3) UNAVAILABILITY OF CHIEF JUDGE.—If the 
chief judge of the district is unavailable, the authority 
conferred by this section may be exercised by the dis-
trict judge in regular active service who is senior in 
commission or, if no such judge is available, by the 
chief judge of the circuit that includes the district. 
‘‘(4) HABEAS CORPUS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing in 
this section shall be construed to authorize suspension 
of the writ of habeas corpus.
‘‘(b) CRIMINAL CASES.—In exercising the authority 
under subsection (a) for criminal cases, the court shall con-
sider the ability of the United States Government to inves-
tigate, litigate, and process defendants during and after the 
emergency situation, as well as the ability of criminal de-
fendants as a class to prepare their defenses. 
‘‘(c) TOLLING IN COURTS OF APPEALS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a natural 
disaster or other emergency situation requiring the 
closure of courts or rendering it impracticable for the 
United States Government or a class of litigants to 
comply with deadlines imposed by any federal or 
States law or rule that applies in the courts of the 
United States, the chief judge of a court of appeals 
that has been affected or that includes a district court 
so affected may exercise emergency authority in ac-
cordance with this section. 
‘‘(2) SCOPE
OF
AUTHORITY.—The chief judge 
may enter such order or orders as may be appropriate 
to delay, toll, or otherwise grant relief from the time 
deadlines imposed by otherwise applicable laws or 
rules for such period as may be appropriate for any 
class of cases pending in the court of appeals. 
‘‘(3) UNAVAILABILITY OF CHIEF JUDGE.—If the 
chief judge of the circuit is unavailable, the authority
conferred by this section may be exercised by the cir-
cuit judge in regular active service who is senior in 
commission. 
‘‘(4) HABEAS CORPUS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing in 
this section shall be construed to authorize suspension 
of the writ of habeas corpus. 
‘‘(d) ISSUANCE OF ORDERS.—The Attorney General or 
the Attorney General’s designee may request issuance of an 
order under this section, or the chief judge of a district or 
of a circuit may act on his or her own motion. 
‘‘(e) DURATION OF ORDERS.—An order entered under 
this section may not toll or extend a time deadline for a 
period of more than 14 days, except that, if the chief judge 
(whether of a district or of a circuit) determines that an 
emergency situation requires additional extensions of the 
period during which deadlines are tolled or extended, the 
chief judge may, with the consent of the judicial council 
of the circuit, enter additional orders under this section in 
order to further toll or extend such time deadline. 
‘‘(f) NOTICE.—A court issuing an order under this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(1) shall make all reasonable efforts to publicize 
the order, including announcing the order on the web 
sites of all affected courts and the web site of the Fed-
eral judiciary; and