Press Release - Senate Approves Critical Court Security Bill
Press Release --SENATE APPROVES CRITICAL COURT SECURITY BILL
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) today helped pass legislation to increase courtroom security. The bill was approved unanimously by the Senate. Both Illinois senators have been involved with the fight to pass stronger courtroom security legislation for more than a year.
"The level of violence directed at judges in Illinois, Georgia and Nevada has shown that we need to move quickly to prevent attacks on innocent individuals and on our criminal justice system," Durbin said. "Speaker Hastert, Senator Obama and I have all discussed the need to pass stronger court security laws before the end of this Congress. Today, the Senate has successfully passed a bill to make judges safer in their homes and in our courtrooms; the House now has an opportunity to act on this critical safety measure."
"Our judges should never have to worry that simply doing their jobs will put them or their families at risk. I believe that the additional protections this legislation provides will make our judges safer, and will help them feel more secure," said Obama. "I am very pleased that the Senate passed this important bill, and I hope the House will soon follow suit."
The Court Security Improvement Act of 2006 includes the following:
# Expands the definition of prohibited dangerous weapons in federal courthouses
# Creates a new federal crime, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, for posting restricted personal information about a federal judge, law enforcement official, juror, witness or family member thereof, on the Internet with the intent to use that information to kill, kidnap, inflict bodily harm against, or threaten the federal official or family member
# Creates a new federal crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for filing a false lien against the property of a federal judge or law enforcement official in retaliation for the performance of official duties
# Extends a provision in existing law that gives federal judges the authority to edit information about their financial disclosures when its release could endanger the judge or their family
# Authorizes an additional $20 million for the U.S. Marshals Service to protect judges
# Requires the U.S. Marshals Service to consult with the Judicial Conference of the United States regarding the security requirements of the judicial branch
# Authorizes state courts to receive Justice Department grant money to improve security
Earlier this year, a similar court security provision was adopted by the Senate with broad bipartisan support as an amendment to the 2007 Department of Defense Authorization bill. It was later removed from the bill during conference committee deliberations.
Last year, Durbin and Obama, citing the recent murders of the husband and mother of federal judge Joan Lefkow in Chicago and the courtroom killings in Atlanta, worked to secure funding for enhanced security for federal judges and courtrooms. Durbin wrote to the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the U.S. Attorney General regarding improvements to the protection of federal judges. The Senators also met with the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, who oversees the safety and protection of federal judges, on this issue.
In April, 2005, Durbin and Obama successfully added a provision to the 2005 Supplemental Appropriations bill that provided $12 million to protect federal judges in their homes and courthouses. The funding is currently being used for installation and maintenance of security systems at the homes of federal judges, protective surveillance at the homes of judges and at courthouses, and for protective intelligence gathering and analysis.
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=266630&&