Title: Justice for Victims of Confidential Informant Crime Act of 2017
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Justice for Victims of Confidential Informant Crime Act of 2017
This bill amends the federal judicial code to extend to three years and six months the period within which a tort claim against the United States must be presented in writing to a federal agency when the claim arises out of a government employee's conduct with respect to the criminal misconduct of a government informant. (Current law bars all tort claims against the United States that are not presented within two years after the claim accrues.)
The extension applies retroactively to any such claim that: (1) accrued on or after May 1, 1981; and (2) in the case of a claim accrued before the date of enactment of this bill, is presented within one year after such date.
The government is prohibited from asserting a defense or a bar, based on the doctrine of res judicata or collateral estoppel, to a claim that accrued before enactment of this bill and to which this bill applies.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1856 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1856

  To amend title 28, United States Code, with respect to certain tort 
     claims arising out of the criminal misconduct of confidential 
                  informants, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 2017

  Mr. Lynch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 28, United States Code, with respect to certain tort 
     claims arising out of the criminal misconduct of confidential 
                  informants, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Justice for Victims of Confidential 
Informant Crime Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. TORT CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF THE CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT OF A 
              CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT.

    (a) In General.--Section 2401(b) of title 28, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``A tort claim'' and inserting ``(1) Except 
        as provided in paragraph (2)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) In the case of a claim arising out of the conduct of 
        an employee of the Government with respect to the criminal 
        misconduct of a Government informant, paragraph (1) shall be 
        applied by substituting `three years and six months' for `two 
        years'.''.
    (b) Retroactive Effect.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to any claim that--
            (1) accrued on or after May 1, 1981; and
            (2) in the case of a claim that accrued before the date of 
        enactment of this Act, is presented not later than one year 
        after that date.
    (c) Preclusion of Certain Defenses or Bars.--The Government may not 
assert a defense or a bar, based on the doctrine of res judicata or 
collateral estoppel, to a claim that--
            (1) accrued before the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) to which the amendments made by this section apply.
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