Demanding Oversight from Justice Act of 2017

Bill: 115-hr-3799
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]
Introduced: 2017-09-14
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Civil actions and liability

Constitution and constitutional amendments

Due process and equal protection

Government information and archives

Government studies and investigations

Juvenile crime and gang violence

Law enforcement administration and funding

Law enforcement officers
Latest action: action_date: 2017-09-28
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-09-14
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Demanding Oversight from Justice Act of 2017</strong></p> <p>This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require the Department of Justice (DOJ)&nbsp;to seek a civil action to stop law enforcement officials responsible for the administration of juvenile justice from&nbsp;engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives persons of their statutory or constitutional rights when DOJ has reasonable cause to believe such&nbsp;conduct has occurred.</p> <p>The bill requires DOJ to publish an annual report describing complaints received about unlawful law enforcement conduct and specified information, including an explanation of why DOJ did not initiate an investigation or civil action.</p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3799 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 14, 2017 Ms. Maxine Waters of California (for herself, Mr. Conyers , Mr. Rush , Mr. Cohen , Mrs. Watson Coleman , Mr. Payne , Mr. Hastings , Mr. Scott of Virginia , Ms. Norton , Mr. Cummings , Ms. Wilson of Florida , Mr. Gutiérrez , and Mr. Carson of Indiana ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To direct the Justice Department to pursue civil actions to eliminate patterns or practices of civil rights violations by police, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Demanding Oversight from Justice Act of 2017 . 2. Civil action by Attorney General Section 210401(b) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 ( 34 U.S.C. 12601(b) ) is amended by striking may in a civil action and inserting shall in a civil action . 3. Annual reporting requirement Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall publish a report describing the complaints received by the Department of Justice alleging violations of section 210401 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, including— (1) information on each investigation conducted and each civil action initiated— (A) pursuant to all such complaints; or (B) without such a complaint having been filed; and (2) for each complaint received for which the Attorney General does not initiate an investigation or a civil action, an explanation as to why no investigation or civil action was initiated.