jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-04-22 00:00:00

Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the federal judicial code to prohibit federal courts from certifying any proposed class seeking monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss unless the party seeking to maintain such a class action affirmatively demonstrates that each proposed class member suffered an injury of the same type and scope as the injury of the named class representatives.

A court's certification of such a class must include a determination, based on a rigorous analysis of the evidence presented, that the requirements of this Act have been satisfied.

(Sec. 3) The bill also amends federal bankruptcy law concerning a trust formed under a reorganization plan following the discharge in bankruptcy of a debtor corporation in order to assume the debtor's liability with respect to claims seeking recovery for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage allegedly caused by the presence of, or exposure to, asbestos or asbestos-containing products. Such a trust shall file with the bankruptcy court quarterly reports, available on the public docket, which describe each demand the trust has received from a claimant and the basis for any payment made to that claimant (excluding any confidential medical record or the claimant's full Social Security number). Upon written request, and subject to payment (demanded at the option of the trust) for any reasonable cost incurred by the trust to comply with such request, such a trust shall provide any information related to payment from, and demands for payment from, the trust to any party to any action in law or equity concerning liability for asbestos exposure.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-04-22 00:00:00

Supreme Court Ethics Act of 2015

Requires the Supreme Court to promulgate a code of ethics for the Justices of the Supreme Court that shall include the five canons of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States, with any amendments or modifications that the Supreme Court determines appropriate.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Date: 2015-04-28 00:00:00

National Center for the Right to Counsel Act

Establishes in the District of Columbia a private, nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Center for the Right to Counsel to provide: (1) financial support to supplement, but not supplant, funding for public defense systems that provide legal assistance to indigent defendants in criminal cases, including systems run by state or local governments as well as private entities or individuals providing services under contract with such governments; and (2) financial and substantive support for training programs to improve delivery of legal services to indigent defendants.

Requires each state to have a state advisory council to: (1) monitor, receive, and investigate complaints regarding the compliance of public defense systems that receive funding with applicable laws and regulations; (2) notify the Center of any apparent violations; and (3) collect data on the delivery of public defense services and facilitate information sharing between the state's public defense systems.

Authorizes the Center to: (1) make grants and contracts; (2) undertake research, training, and technical assistance; and (3) serve as a clearinghouse for information.

Prohibits the Center from interfering with attorneys' professional responsibilities to their clients or from abrogating the authority of states or other jurisdictions to enforce such standards.

Requires the Center, to the extent feasible, to have services provided in an indigent defendant's principal language in areas where significant numbers of indigent defendants speak a language other than English.

Directs the Center to make available to the public an online database that includes the contact information for all public defense systems in every state.

Requires the Center to establish regional backup service centers to assist public defense systems with access to investigators, sentencing mitigation specialists, and information about available grants.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-04-29 00:00:00

Arbitration Fairness Act of 2015

Declares that no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of an employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute.

Declares, further, that the validity and enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate shall be determined by a court, under federal law, rather than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agreement.

Exempts from this Act arbitration provisions in a contract between an employer and a labor organization or between labor organizations. Denies to any such arbitration provision, however, the effect of waiving the right of an employee to seek judicial enforcement of a right arising under the U.S. Constitution, a state constitution, a federal or state statute, or related public policy.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-05-13 00:00:00

Securing Participation, Engagement, and Knowledge Freedom by Reducing Egregious Efforts Act of 2015 or the SPEAK FREE Act of 2015

Amends the federal judicial code to allow a person against whom a lawsuit is asserted to file a special motion to dismiss claims referred to as strategic lawsuits against public participation ("SLAPP suits") that arise from an oral or written statement or other expression, or conduct in furtherance of such expression, by the defendant in connection with an official proceeding or about a matter of public concern.

Defines "matter of public concern" as an issue related to: (1) health or safety; (2) environmental, economic, or community well-being; (3) the government; (4) a public official or public figure; or (5) a good, product, or service in the marketplace.

Requires courts to grant such a special motion to dismiss if the party filing the motion makes a prima facie showing that the claim asserted against them is a SLAPP suit, unless the responding party demonstrates that the claim is likely to succeed on the merits.

Provides exceptions prohibiting courts from granting such a special motion to dismiss if the claim concerns:

 a government enforcement action, a business making representations of fact in commercial speech to consumers about its own or a business competitor's goods or services, or a public interest claim on behalf of the general public. Allows dismissal of private suits, notwithstanding such commercial speech and public interest exceptions, if the claim is against:

 a person or entity engaged in activities to disseminate or express ideas to the public in a book or academic journal; any person or entity based upon statements or conduct concerning the creation, dissemination, exhibition, advertisement, or other promotion of journalistic, consumer commentary, dramatic, literary, musical, political, or artistic works, including motion pictures, television programs, or articles published online or in a newspaper or magazine of general circulation; or a nonprofit organization that receives more than 50% of annual revenue grants or awards from, programs of, or reimbursements for services rendered to the government. Sets forth special procedural requirements for discovery and motions.

Requires courts to award litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney's fees to private parties that filed and prevailed on certain motions under this Act or to parties that responded to motions found to be frivolous.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-05-14 00:00:00

Ensuring Access to Justice for Claims Against the United States Act

Amends the federal judicial code with respect to the jurisdiction of federal courts over civil actions pending in, or on appeal from, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (USCFC) when the plaintiff also has pending in another federal court a civil action that includes a claim against the United States (or an agency or officer of the United States) arising from the same set of operative facts.

 Requires the court presiding over the action that was filed later to stay the later action until the action that was filed first is no longer pending. (Currently, the USCFC is prohibited from having jurisdiction of any claim in which the plaintiff has pending in any other court any suit or process against the United States or any person who was acting or professing to act under the authority of the United States.)

Provides an exception to the requirement to stay the later action if: (1) the parties in each of the actions agree; or (2) in exceptional circumstances the court finds, upon the motion of any party, that termination or modification of the stay is necessary to preserve material evidence or to prevent irreparable prejudice to that party.

Provides the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit with jurisdiction of an appeal from an interlocutory order terminating or modifying such a stay.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-05-14 00:00:00

Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2015

Amends the federal judicial code to prohibit a court, in any civil action in which the pleadings state facts relevant to the protection of public health or safety, from entering an order restricting the disclosure of information obtained through discovery, approving a settlement agreement that would restrict such disclosure, or restricting access to court records, unless in connection with such order the court has first made independent findings of fact that: (1) the order would not restrict the disclosure of information relevant to the protection of public health or safety; or (2) the public interest in the disclosure of past, present, or potential health or safety hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information, and the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the confidentiality interest asserted.

Prohibits a court from: (1) enforcing any provision of an agreement between or among parties to the civil action, or an order entered under this Act, that restricts a party from disclosing information to any federal or state agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity relating to such information; or (2) enforcing any provision of a settlement agreement between or among parties to such civil action that prohibits a party from disclosing that a settlement was reached or the terms of the settlement (excluding any money paid) that involve matters relevant to the protection of public health or safety, or from discussing matters relevant to the protection of public health or safety involved in such civil action. Excepts from this enforcement prohibition (thus allowing enforcement of) a settlement agreement provision about which the court finds that the public interest in the disclosure of past, present, or potential public health or safety hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information in question, and the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the confidentiality interest asserted.

Creates a rebuttable presumption that the interest in protecting personally identifiable information of an individual outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit, require, or authorize the disclosure of classified information, as defined under the Classified Information Procedures Act.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-05-21 00:00:00

Control Unlawful Fugitive Felons Act of 2015 

 Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance), VIII (Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans), and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to prohibit from receiving benefits under those titles any individual who is the subject of: (1) an outstanding arrest warrant for a felony, or (2) an outstanding arrest warrant for violating a condition of prohibition or parole imposed under federal or state law.

Directs the Social Security Administration (SSA) to furnish any federal, state, or local law enforcement officer, upon written request, with the current address, Social Security number, and photograph of any recipient of title VIII benefits if the officer furnishes the SSA with the individual's name and other identifying information as reasonably required to establish the individual's unique identity, and notifies the SSA that: (1) the individual is fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement after conviction, or the individual is violating a condition of probation or parole; and (2) the location or apprehension of such individual is within the officer's official duties.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-06-04 00:00:00

Structured Settlement Claimants Rights Act of 2015

Amends the federal judicial code to declare that a claimant in any civil action before a federal court shall have the right to retain a structured settlement broker to act on behalf of that claimant for purposes of negotiating a schedule of payments or other terms of payment previously agreed to be paid by or on behalf of the defendant in satisfaction of a judgment against that defendant or in accordance with the terms of a settlement.

Requires that a party to an administrative proceeding have the same right to retain such a structured settlement broker for negotiations with other parties.

Directs: (1) the court or the agency in an administrative proceeding to inform the claimant of this right at the appropriate time, and (2) the defendant to provide timely notice of any current or previous professional relationship between the defendant and the broker.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-06-25 00:00:00

Requires the President to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, two additional district judges for the district of Colorado.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-07-08 00:00:00

Justice for Victims of Confidential Informant Crime Act of 2015

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.)

Applies the amendment 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 Act, is presented within one year after such date.

Prohibits the government 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 Act and to which this Act applies.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Date: 2015-07-10 00:00:00

Grand Jury Transparency Act

This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to permit the Department of Justice to give preferential treatment to applications for public safety and community policing grants from jurisdictions that have a law or ordinance to make grand jury transcripts and other records publicly available.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-07-14 00:00:00

This bill amends the federal judicial code to prohibit federal courts from deciding any issue on the authority of foreign law, except to the extent that the Constitution or an Act of Congress requires the consideration of that foreign law.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Date: 2015-09-17 00:00:00

Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2015

This bill requires federal, state, and local governments and their employees to directly operate and perform core services at adult prisons and detention centers.

The bill reestablishes parole for eligible federal prisoners sentenced on or after January 1, 2017. (The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 eliminated parole for offenders convicted of federal crimes committed after November 1, 1987.)

It authorizes the United States Parole Commission to: (1) grant or deny a parole application or recommendation; (2) impose conditions on, modify, or revoke parole; and (3) maintain supervision of paroled offenders.

Financial service providers at prisons and detention centers must impose reasonable and proportional fees and charges for money transfer services. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must establish standards to assess such fees or charges.

The bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to cap prison phone call rates and connection charges, require telecommunications providers to offer collect and debit account call services, restrict commission payments and ancillary service charges, and require correctional facility administrators to allow more than one telecommunications provider.

It eliminates the provision that requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to maintain at least 34,000 detention beds. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must establish nationwide alternatives to detention programs and determine detention bed capacity based solely on detention needs.

DHS must conduct annual inspections and routine oversight of detention facilities.

The bill prohibits family detention and requires DHS to establish alternatives to detention programs for detained family units. Also, it prohibits separation of a family to detain a family member, except DHS may detain an alien parent who is dangerous to the community and inadmissible on terrorism-related grounds.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-09-28 00:00:00

Fraudulent Joinder Prevention Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends procedures under which federal courts determine whether a case that was removed from a state court to a federal court on the basis of a diversity of citizenship among the parties may be remanded back to state court upon a motion opposed on fraudulent joinder grounds that: (1) one or more defendants are citizens of the same state as one or more plaintiffs, or (2) one or more defendants properly joined and served are citizens of the state in which the action was brought. Joinder of such a defendant is fraudulent if the court finds:

 actual fraud in the pleading of jurisdictional facts with respect to that defendant, state law would not plausibly impose liability on that defendant, state or federal law bars all claims in the complaint against that defendant, or no good faith intention to prosecute the action against that defendant or to seek a joint judgment including that defendant. In determining whether to grant or deny such a motion for remand, the court: (1) may permit pleadings to be amended; and (2) must consider the pleadings, affidavits, and other evidence submitted by the parties.

A federal court finding that all such defendants have been fraudulently joined must: (1) dismiss without prejudice the claims against those defendants, and (2) deny the motion for remand.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-10-08 00:00:00

Eyes on the Courts Act of 2015

This bill requires the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court, including the Supreme Court, to permit court proceedings to be photographed, electronically recorded, broadcasted, televised, or streamed on the Internet to or for the public, unless the judge determines, upon a motion of a party or the judge, that it would constitute a violation of the due process rights of a party or is not in the interests of justice.

The Judicial Conference may promulgate mandatory guidelines with respect to the management and administration of such photographing, recording, broadcasting, televising, or streaming.

The presiding judge of each appellate court may promulgate rules and disciplinary measures for the courtroom use of any form of media or media equipment and the acquisition or distribution of any of the images or sounds obtained in the courtroom.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-12-10 00:00:00

Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2015

This bill amends the federal judicial code to:

 convert certain temporary bankruptcy judges to permanent bankruptcy judges and authorize the appointment of additional bankruptcy judges in Delaware and Michigan; convert temporary bankruptcy judges to permanent bankruptcy judges in specified judicial districts in Florida, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Virginia; and authorize the appointment of additional bankruptcy judges in the middle district of Florida.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Law
Date: 2015-12-17 00:00:00

Catalyst Theory Restoration Act of 2015

 This bill defines "prevailing party" for purposes of determining the meaning of provisions in federal laws, federal regulations, or any judicial or administrative rules that provide for recovery of attorney's fees to include a party whose pursuit of a nonfrivolous claim or defense was a catalyst for a voluntary or unilateral change in position by the opposing party that provides any significant part of the relief sought.

The bill prohibits this Act from altering special eligibility criteria: (1) established for prevailing defendants, or (2) contained in statutes that expressly limit or qualify who may be considered a prevailing party for purposes of that statute.
Topic: Law and Crime — Court Administration
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Date: 2016-02-01 00:00:00

Fresh Start Act of 2016

This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow an individual convicted of a nonviolent criminal offense to file a petition for expungement of the record of such conviction. It allows expungement if such individual: (1) has never been convicted of any criminal offense other than the nonviolent offenses committed in a single criminal episode that includes the offense for which expungement is sought; (2) has fulfilled all requirements of the sentence of the court, including payment of all fines, restitution, or assessments and completion of terms of imprisonment and probation; and (3) has remained free (if required by the court's sentence) from dependency on or abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance for at least one year.

 The Department of Justice must maintain an unaltered nonpublic copy of expunged criminal records, to be disclosed for limited purposes to federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies.

The bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to increase by 5% grant funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to states that implement expungement procedures substantially similar to the procedures enacted by this Act. It decreases such grant funding by 5% for states that fail to adopt expungement procedures.