I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3359 
To provide for a system for reviewing the case files of cold case murders 
at the instance of certain persons, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 19, 2021 
Mr. SWALWELL (for himself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide for a system for reviewing the case files of cold 
case murders at the instance of certain persons, 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 ‘‘Homicide Victims’ 
Families’ Rights Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. CASE FILE REVIEW. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—An applicable agency shall review 
the case file regarding a cold case murder upon written 
application by a designated person to determine if a full 
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reinvestigation would result in probative investigative 
leads. 
(b) REVIEW.—The case file review shall include— 
(1) an analysis of what investigative steps or 
follow-up steps may have been missed in the initial 
investigation; 
(2) an assessment of whether witnesses should 
be interviewed or reinterviewed; 
(3) an examination of physical evidence to see 
if all appropriate forensic testing and analysis was 
performed in the first instance or if additional test-
ing might produce information relevant to the inves-
tigation; and 
(4) a modernization of the file to bring it up to 
current investigative standards to the extent it would 
help develop probative leads. 
(c) REVIEWER.—The person or persons doing the re-
view required by subsection (a) shall not have previously 
investigated the murder at issue. 
(d) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The applicable agency 
shall confirm in writing receipt of the request provided for 
under subsection (a). 
(e) PROHIBITION ON MULTIPLE CONCURRENT RE-
VIEWS.—Only one case review shall be undertaken at any 
one time with respect to the same cold case murder victim. 
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(f) TIME LIMIT.—No later than six months after the 
receipt of the written application submitted pursuant to 
subsection (a), the applicable agency shall conclude its 
case file review and reach a conclusion about whether or 
not a full reinvestigation under section 5 is warranted. 
(g) EXTENSIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The applicable agency may 
extend the limit in subsection (f) for periods of time 
not to exceed six months if said agency makes a 
finding that the number of case files to be reviewed 
make it impracticable to comply with said limit with-
out unreasonably taking resources from other law 
enforcement activities. 
(2) ACTIONS
SUBSEQUENT
TO
WAIVER.—For 
cases for which the time limit in subsection (f) is ex-
tended, the applicable agency shall provide notice 
and an explanation of its reasoning to the des-
ignated person who filed the written application pur-
suant to this section. 
SEC. 3. APPLICATION. 
Each agency shall develop a written application to be 
used for designated persons to request a case file review 
under section 2. 
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cation pursuant to section 2 and provide him or her with 
periodic updates during the case file review and full re-
investigation. 
(b) EXPLANATION OF CONCLUSION.—The applicable 
agency shall meet with the designated person and discuss 
the evidence to explain to the designated person who filed 
the written application pursuant to section 2 its decision 
whether or not to engage in the full reinvestigation pro-
vided for under section 5 at the conclusion of the case 
file review. 
SEC. 7. SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS. 
(a) CASE FILE REVIEW.—If a case file review is done 
and a conclusion is reached not to conduct a full reinves-
tigation, no additional case file review shall be undertaken 
for a period of five years, unless there is newly discovered, 
materially significant evidence. 
(b) FULL REINVESTIGATION.—If a full reinvestiga-
tion is done and a suspect is not identified at its conclu-
sion, no additional case file review or full reinvestigation 
shall be undertaken for a period of five years, unless there 
is newly discovered, materially significant new evidence. 
SEC. 8. DATA COLLECTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning three years after enact-
ment of this Act, the National Institute of Justice shall 
publish annually statistics on the number of cold cases. 
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(b) MANNER OF PUBLICATION.—The statistics pub-
lished pursuant to subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, be 
broken down by the type of crime and agency. 
SEC. 9. PROCEDURES TO PROMOTE COMPLIANCE. 
(a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal 
agency shall promulgate regulations to enforce the rights 
of designated persons and to ensure compliance by respon-
sible officials with the obligations described in this Act. 
(b) PROCEDURES.—The regulations promulgated 
under subsection (a) shall— 
(1) designate an administrative authority within 
the agency to receive and investigate complaints re-
lating to the provision or violation of the rights of 
designated persons; 
(2) require a course of training for employees 
and offices of agencies within the agency regarding 
the rights under this Act; 
(3) contain disciplinary sanctions, including 
suspension or termination from employment, for em-
ployees of the agency who willfully or wantonly fail 
to comply with this Act; 
(4) establish a process for investigations into 
the conduct of those no longer employed by the Fed-
eral Government when a complaint is filed and a 
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process for referrals of recommended sanctions with 
respect to such conduct to the appropriate State bar 
or other licensing body; and 
(5) provide that the head of the agency, or the 
designee thereof, shall be the final arbiter of the 
complaint, and that there shall be no judicial review 
of the final decision of the head of the agency by a 
complainant. 
SEC. 10. WITHHOLDING INFORMATION. 
Nothing in this Act shall require an agency to provide 
information that would endanger the safety of any person, 
unreasonably impede an ongoing investigation, violate a 
court order, or violate legal obligations regarding privacy. 
SEC. 11. MULTIPLE AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—If there is more than one possible 
applicable agency, each applicable agency shall coordinate 
their case file review or full reinvestigation such that there 
is only one joint case file review or full reinvestigation 
occuring at a time in compliance with section 2(e) or 5(d) 
as applicable. 
(b) BIAS.—If an immediate family member believes 
there was bias demonstrated in the handling of the initial 
case, any case file review, or any full reinvestigation by 
any of the possible applicable agencies, said family mem-
ber may communicate that concern to the Attorney Gen-
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eral. The Attorney General shall review the allegations 
made by the immediate family member to determine if, 
in the interest of justice, another agency should conduct 
the case file review or full reinvestigate, as applicable. 
SEC. 12. APPLICABILITY. 
This Act applies in the case of any murder occurring 
on or after January 1, 1970. 
SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘designated person’’ means an 
immediate family member or someone similarly situ-
ated as defined by the Department of Justice. 
(2) The term ‘‘immediate family member’’ 
means a parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grand-
parent-in-law, sibling, spouse, child, or step-child of 
a murder victim. 
(3) The term ‘‘victim’’ means a natural person 
who died as a result of a murder. 
(4) The term ‘‘murder’’ means any criminal of-
fense under section 1111(a) of title 18, United 
States Code, or any offense the elements of which 
are substantially identical to such section. 
(5) The term ‘‘agency’’ means a Federal law 
enforcement entity that is engaged in the detection, 
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investigation, or prosecution of murder under Fed-
eral law. 
(6) The term ‘‘applicable agency’’ means an 
agency that is investigating or had investigated the 
murder of a victim. 
(7) The term ‘‘cold case’’ means a violent crime 
under Federal law committed more than three years 
prior, for which all probative investigative leads have 
been exhausted, and for which no likely perpetrator 
has been identified. 
(8) The term ‘‘cold case murder’’ means a mur-
der committed more than three years prior, for 
which all probative investigative leads have been ex-
hausted, and for which no likely perpetrator has 
been identified. 
SEC. 14. ANNUAL REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each applicable agency shall sub-
mit an annual report to the Senate Committee on the Ju-
diciary and the House Committee on the Judiciary de-
scribing actions taken and results achieved under this Act 
during such year. 
(b) REPORT DESCRIBED.—The report described in 
the preceding subsection shall include the number of writ-
ten applications filed pursuant to section 2, the number 
of extensions granted and an explanation of reasons pro-
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vided under section 2(g), the number of full reinvestiga-
tions initiated and closed pursuant to section 5, the num-
ber of suspects identified, arrested, charged, and convicted 
for the cold case murder investigated under the Act. 
Æ 
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