111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5367 
AN ACT 
To amend title 11, District of Columbia Official Code, to 
revise certain administrative authorities of the District 
of Columbia courts, to authorize the District of Columbia 
Public Defender Service to provide professional liability 
insurance for officers and employees of the Service for 
claims relating to services furnished within the scope 
of employment with the Service, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘D.C. Courts and Public 
Defender Service Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. AUTHORITIES OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS. 
(a) PERMITTING JUDICIAL CONFERENCE ON BIEN-
NIAL BASIS; ATTENDANCE OF MAGISTRATE JUDGES.— 
Section 11–744, District of Columbia Official Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘annually’’ 
and inserting ‘‘biennially or annually’’; 
(2) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘active 
judges’’ and inserting ‘‘active judges and magistrate 
judges’’; 
(3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Every 
judge’’ and inserting ‘‘Every judge and magistrate 
judge’’; and 
(4) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Courts of 
Appeals’’ and inserting ‘‘Court of Appeals’’. 
(b) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY TO TOLL OR DELAY 
JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.— 
(1) PROCEEDINGS IN SUPERIOR COURT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subchapter III of 
Chapter 9 of title 11, District of Columbia Offi-
cial Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section: 
‘‘§ 11–947. Emergency authority to toll or delay pro-
ceedings. 
‘‘(a) TOLLING OR DELAYING PROCEEDINGS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a natural 
disaster or other emergency situation requiring the 
closure of Superior Court or a natural disaster or 
other emergency situation rendering it impracticable 
for the United States or District of Columbia Gov-
ernment or a class of litigants to comply with dead-
lines imposed by any Federal or District of Colum-
bia law or rule that applies in the Superior Court, 
the chief judge of the Superior Court 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 ap-
propriate to delay, toll, or otherwise grant relief 
from the time deadlines imposed by otherwise appli-
cable laws or rules for such period as may be appro-
priate for any class of cases pending or thereafter 
filed in the Superior Court. 
‘‘(B) The authority conferred by this section ex-
tends to all laws and rules affecting criminal and ju-
venile proceedings (including, pre-arrest, post-arrest,
pretrial, trial, and post-trial procedures) and civil, 
family, domestic violence, probate and tax pro-
ceedings. 
‘‘(3) UNAVAILABILITY
OF
CHIEF
JUDGE.—If 
the chief judge of the Superior Court is absent or 
disabled, the authority conferred by this section may 
be exercised by the judge designated under section 
11–907(a) or by the Joint Committee on Judicial 
Administration. 
‘‘(4) HABEAS CORPUS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing 
in this section shall be construed to authorize sus-
pension of the writ of habeas corpus. 
‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘natural disaster’ means any 
natural catastrophe (including any hurricane, 
tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, 
tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic erup-
tion, 
landslide, 
mudslide, 
snowstorm, 
or 
drought), or, regardless of cause, any fire, 
flood, or explosion; and 
‘‘(B) the term ‘other emergency situation’ 
includes but is not limited to any occasion or 
instance of terrorism, enemy attack, sabotage, 
other hostile action, disease, or any manmade