I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6492 
To regulate certain deferred prosecution agreements and nonprosecution 
agreements in Federal criminal cases. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 15, 2008 
Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of Cali-
fornia, and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To regulate certain deferred prosecution agreements and 
nonprosecution agreements in Federal criminal cases. 
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 ‘‘Accountability in De-
ferred Prosecution Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘deferred prosecution agreement’’ 
means an agreement between a Federal prosecutor 
and an organization to conditionally defer prosecu-
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tion of that organization in a criminal case in which 
charges are filed; 
(2) the term ‘‘nonprosecution agreement’’ 
means an agreement between a Federal prosecutor 
and an organization to conditionally decide not to 
file criminal charges against the organization; 
(3) the term ‘‘organization’’ means a person or 
entity other than an individual; and 
(4) the term ‘‘independent monitor’’ means a 
person or entity outside the Department of Justice 
that is selected to oversee the implementation of a 
deferred prosecution agreement or nonprosecution 
agreement. 
SEC. 
3. 
LEGAL 
EQUIVALENCE 
OF 
NONPROSECUTION 
AGREEMENT AND DEFERRED PROSECUTION 
AGREEMENT. 
A nonprosecution agreement shall be subject to all 
the requirements this Act and other law imposes on de-
ferred prosecution agreements. 
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES ON AGREEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to promote uniformity 
and to assist prosecutors and organizations as they nego-
tiate and implement deferred prosecution agreements and 
nonprosecution agreements, the Attorney General shall, 
not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
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of this Act, issue public written guidelines for deferred 
prosecution agreements and nonprosecution agreements. 
(b) MATTERS GUIDELINES TO COVER.—The guide-
lines issued under this section shall provide direction in 
the following areas: 
(1) The circumstances in which an independent 
monitor is warranted for the agreement, the duties 
and authority of such a monitor, and to whom the 
monitor owes those duties. 
(2) What terms and conditions are appropriate 
in the agreement, including when, whether, and the 
degree to which Federal prosecutors should seek 
monetary penalties, restitution, civil settlements, and 
post-monitoring conditions. 
(3) Whether the agreement should include some 
or all of the requirements of section 8B2.1 of the 
United States Sentencing Guidelines for compliance 
and ethics programs. 
(4) The process by which the Department of 
Justice decides that the organization has success-
fully satisfied the terms of the agreement. 
(5) The manner and method for determining a 
breach of the agreement. 
(6) The extent of joint involvement of regu-
latory agencies in connection with the agreement 
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and the division of responsibilities with those agen-
cies. 
(7) The period during which the agreement 
should remain in effect. 
(8) What constitutes the cooperation, if any, re-
quired by the agreement from the organization and 
its employees with respect to any ongoing criminal 
investigations, including the length of the obligation 
to cooperate. 
(9) When and why it would be appropriate for 
Federal prosecutors to enter into a nonprosecution 
agreement rather than a deferred prosecution agree-
ment. 
SEC. 5. SELECTION AND COMPENSATION OF INDEPENDENT 
MONITORS OF AGREEMENTS. 
(a) RULES FOR SELECTION OF MONITORS.—The At-
torney General shall establish rules for the selection of 
independent monitors in connection with deferred prosecu-
tion agreements. 
(b) NATIONAL LIST OF POSSIBLE MONITORS.—Such 
rules shall provide for the creation of a national list of 
organizations and individuals who have the expertise and 
specialized skills necessary to serve as independent mon-
itors. The Attorney General shall place the list on the pub-
lic website of the Department of Justice. 
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(c) OPEN SELECTION PROCESS.—Such rules shall 
also provide for an open, public, and competitive process 
for the selection of such monitors. The Department of 
Justice shall, subject to the approval of the court, appoint 
the independent monitor from the national list created 
under this section. 
(d) COMPENSATION.—The Attorney General shall es-
tablish a fee schedule for the compensation of independent 
monitors and their support staff, and place that fee sched-
ule on the public website of the Department of Justice. 
Before a deferred prosecution agreement that entails mon-
itoring is entered into, this schedule shall also be provided 
to each organization that is to be monitored pursuant to 
that agreement. 
SEC. 6. RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS. 
(a) PAYMENTS TO UNRELATED THIRD PARTIES.— 
A deferred prosecution agreement shall not require an or-
ganization to pay money to a third party, other than a 
monitor or the monitor’s staff, if the payment is unrelated 
to the harm caused by the defendant’s conduct that is the 
basis for the agreement. 
(b) IMPARTIALITY IN SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT 
MONITORS.—Attorneys who are or might participate in 
the prosecution of the case against an organization to be 
monitored shall have no role in the selection of the inde-
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pendent monitor, other than suggesting qualifications for 
the monitor. 
(c) TREATMENT OF VIOLATIONS AS CONFLICTS OF 
INTEREST.—The Attorney General shall take appropriate 
steps to treat a violation of this section as a conflict of 
interest and to remedy any such conflicts of interest. 
SEC. 7. JUDICIAL OVERSIGHT OF AGREEMENTS. 
(a) COURT APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT.—The Gov-
ernment shall file each deferred prosecution agreement in 
an appropriate United States district court. The court 
shall approve the agreement if the court determines the 
agreement is consistent with the guidelines for such agree-
ments and is in the interests of justice. The agreement 
shall take effect on the approval of the court. 
(b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Each party to the agree-
ment and any independent monitor required under the 
agreement shall submit to the court in which the agree-
ment is filed quarterly reports on the progress made to-
ward the completion of the agreement, and describing any 
concern the filer has about the implementation of the 
agreement. In the final quarterly report, the independent 
monitor shall include a full and itemized statement of the 
work done and the compensation earned for that work. 
(c) COURT REVIEW.—The court shall, on motion of 
any party or the independent monitor if there is one, re-
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view the implementation or termination of the agreement, 
and take any appropriate action, to assure that the imple-
mentation or termination is consistent with the interests 
of justice. 
SEC. 8. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE RELATING TO DEFERRED 
PROSECUTION AGREEMENTS. 
(a) DISCLOSURE
ON DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE 
WEBSITE.—Upon the taking effect of a deferred prosecu-
tion agreement, the Attorney General shall place the text 
of the agreement on the public website of the Department 
of Justice, together with all the terms and conditions of 
any agreement or understanding between an independent 
monitor appointed pursuant to that agreement and the or-
ganization monitored. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS APPROVED BY COURT.—Subject to 
the limitation in subsection (c), the court may, upon peti-
tion of any interested party, approve an exception to the 
requirements of this section for good cause shown. Good 
cause includes that the information proposed to be ex-
cepted from the requirements is proprietary, confidential, 
or a trade secret. 
(c) MINIMUM DISCLOSURE.—The court may not ap-
prove an exception from the requirements of this section 
for the fact that the deferred prosecution agreement has 
been filed with the court, the name of the organization 
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to which it pertains, or the identity and financial terms 
agreed upon with respect to any independent monitor cho-
sen in connection with the agreement. 
Æ 
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