Federal Judiciary Emergency Special Sessions Act of 2005

FEDERAL JUDICIARY EMERGENCY SPECIAL SESSIONS ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 07, 2005)

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Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin, the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3650, the Federal Judiciary Emergency Special Sessions Act of 2005. H.R. 3650 authorizes Federal courts to conduct business outside of their geographic jurisdictions during times of emergency. Congress must enact this legislation immediately so that the affected courts in the gulf region can continue to operate in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina has severely damaged, perhaps ravaged is a better word, Federal courthouses in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. We must act with a sense of urgency. To illustrate why, consider the Eastern Judicial District of Louisiana, where operations are currently suspended.

There is virtually no Federal district court presence there. Judges and court staff are physically scattered throughout Louisiana and other States. But crime in the district, assault, rape, and robbery, has not taken the week off. Yet there is no court that can act and no judge to preside. Criminal defendants will walk if deadlines established in the Speedy Trial Act cannot be met. In other words, we must restore the rule of law in the Eastern District of Louisiana as well as elsewhere.

The bill contemplates that affected courts could use other facilities that are convenient and practicable to participants under the circumstances. The special circumstances allowing courts to operate outside their normal jurisdictions would continue only until the vacated courthouses could be restored for normal business activities.

We need to enact H.R. 3650 as part of the initial effort to help the displaced citizens of the region get back on their feet.

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