[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3729 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3729
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 18, 2006
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide emergency authority to delay or toll judicial proceedings in
United States district and circuit courts.
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 ``Federal Judiciary Emergency Tolling
Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY TO DELAY OR TOLL JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Emergency authority to delay or toll judicial deadlines
``(a) Tolling in District Courts.--
``(1) In general.--In the event of a natural disaster or
other emergency situation requiring the closure of courts or
rendering it impracticable for the United States Government or
a class of litigants to comply with deadlines imposed by any
Federal or State law or rule that applies in the courts of the
United States, the chief judge of a district court that has
been affected may exercise emergency authority in accordance
with this section.
``(2) Scope of authority.--(A) The chief judge may enter
such order or orders as may be appropriate to delay, toll, or
otherwise grant relief from the time deadlines imposed by
otherwise applicable laws or rules for such period as may be
appropriate for any class of cases pending or thereafter filed
in the district court or bankruptcy court of the district.
``(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the authority
conferred by this section extends to all laws and rules
affecting criminal and juvenile proceedings (including,
prearrest, post-arrest, pretrial, trial, and post-trial
procedures), civil actions, bankruptcy proceedings, and the
time for filing and perfecting an appeal.
``(C) The authority conferred by this section does not
include the authority to extend--
``(i) any statute of limitation for a criminal
action; or
``(ii) any statute of limitation for a civil
action, if--
``(I) the claim arises under the laws of a
State; and
``(II) extending the limitations period
would be inconsistent with the governing State
law.
``(3) Unavailability of chief judge.--If the chief judge of
the district is unavailable, the authority conferred by this
section may be exercised by the district judge in regular
active service who is senior in commission or, if no such judge
is available, by the chief judge of the circuit that includes
the district.
``(4) Habeas corpus unaffected.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed to authorize suspension of the writ of
habeas corpus.
``(b) Criminal Cases.--In exercising the authority under subsection
(a) for criminal cases, the court shall consider the ability of the
United States Government to investigate, litigate, and process
defendants during and after the emergency situation, as well as the
ability of criminal defendants as a class to prepare their defenses.
``(c) Tolling in Courts of Appeals.--
``(1) In general.--In the event of a natural disaster or
other emergency situation requiring the closure of courts or
rendering it impracticable for the United States Government or
a class of litigants to comply with deadlines imposed by any
federal or States law or rule that applies in the courts of the
United States, the chief judge of a court of appeals that has
been affected or that includes a district court so affected may
exercise emergency authority in accordance with this section.
``(2) Scope of authority.--The chief judge may enter such
order or orders as may be appropriate to delay, toll, or
otherwise grant relief from the time deadlines imposed by
otherwise applicable laws or rules for such period as may be
appropriate for any class of cases pending in the court of
appeals.
``(3) Unavailability of chief judge.--If the chief judge of
the circuit is unavailable, the authority conferred by this
section may be exercised by the circuit judge in regular active
service who is senior in commission.
``(4) Habeas corpus unaffected.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed to authorize suspension of the writ of
habeas corpus.
``(d) Issuance of Orders.--The Attorney General or the Attorney
General's designee may request issuance of an order under this section,
or the chief judge of a district or of a circuit may act on his or her
own motion.
``(e) Duration of Orders.--An order entered under this section may
not toll or extend a time deadline for a period of more than 14 days,
except that, if the chief judge (whether of a district or of a circuit)
determines that an emergency situation requires additional extensions
of the period during which deadlines are tolled or extended, the chief
judge may, with the consent of the judicial council of the circuit,
enter additional orders under this section in order to further toll or
extend such time deadline.
``(f) Notice.--A court issuing an order under this section--
``(1) shall make all reasonable efforts to publicize the
order, including announcing the order on the web sites of all
affected courts and the web site of the Federal judiciary; and
``(2) shall, through the Director of the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts, send notice of the order,
including the reasons for the issuance of the order, to the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
``(g) Required Reports.--A court issuing one or more orders under
this section relating to an emergency situation shall, not later than
180 days after the date on which the last extension or tolling of a
time period made by the order or orders ends, submit a brief report to
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the Judicial Conference
of the United States describing the orders, including--
``(1) the reasons for issuing the orders;
``(2) the duration of the orders;
``(3) the effects of the orders on litigants; and
``(4) the costs to the judiciary resulting from the orders.
``(h) Exceptions.--The notice under subsection (f)(2) and the
report under subsection (g) are not required in the case of an order
that tolls or extends a time deadline for a period of less than 14
days.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
``1660. Emergency authority to delay or toll judicial deadlines.''.
Passed the House of Representatives July 17, 2006.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.