Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
Latest action · Feb 7, 2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 7, 2017
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
This bill states that an indigent individual facing criminal prosecution or juvenile delinquency in a state court is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel, as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, at the state's expense.
It authorizes a federal class action lawsuit against a state for its systemic failure to guarantee the right to effective assistance of counsel. The assistance of counsel is ineffective when a class of individuals demonstrates that counsel's performance was not reasonable under prevailing professional norms.
Additionally, the bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to modify the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. Specifically, it requires a state or local government to consult with public defenders before distributing JAG funds to community organizations and local governments.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Feb 7, 2017 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 7, 2017Introduced in Senate
- Feb 7, 2017Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 968 | Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017 | Related bill | Mar 9, 2017 |
| S 3144 | Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2016 | Reintroduction of | Jul 7, 2016 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to enforce the Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of effective counsel at all stages of the adversarial process, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide declaratory and injunctive relief against systemic violations of such right, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
- Civil actions and liability
- Constitution and constitutional amendments
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Criminal procedure and sentencing
- Juvenile crime and gang violence
- Law enforcement administration and funding
- Lawyers and legal services
- Legal fees and court costs
- State and local courts
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 7, 2017Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
