Norton Gets Hearing on Bill for an Elected D.C. District Attorney Today (4/24/08)

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) gets the first hearing on a bill she has regularly introduced to allow the District residents to elect an independent district attorney, eliminating the role of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who has always prosecuted criminal cases for the city. The hearing will occur in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building at 10 AM. One of Norton's "Free and Equal D.C." series of bills to assure full self government, her D.C. District Attorney Act (H.R. 1296) has the distinction of having been ratified by a referendum in 2002 by 82%. "The overwhelming referendum vote makes the best statement about the importance that citizens attach to public safety and to direct local control over the officer entrusted within criminal prosecution," Norton said. The D.C. City Council responded to the referendum by writing a bill to create an independent office of the District Attorney and authorized funding.

Norton said, "The present system serves neither federal nor local concerns. The federal government needs a real U.S. Attorney here, not a federal official with the title who in fact devotes most of his staff, effort, and funding to local criminal prosecutions. Particularly today, the U.S. Attorney for the nation's capital should be dedicated exclusively to overriding national concerns, such as prosecution of homeland security and terrorist violations and other important federal crimes. Norton's bill tracks the referendum and the Council bill in providing for an independent U.S. Attorney who resides or lives in the District of Columbia."