Norton to Introduce Bill to Give D.C. Control Over Operations of Local Courts

D.C. Prohibited from Amending D.C. Code Courts Section

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that she will introduced a bill to give the Council of the District of Columbia the authority over the jurisdiction and organization of the local D.C. courts. The 1973 Home Rule Act (HRA) expressly prohibits D.C. from enacting any law with respect to any provision of the D.C Code title that relates to these matters.

"Long before I was elected to Congress, I recall the determined position of Mayor Walter Washington, our first home-rule mayor, when Congress initially declined to put our police department under the District's jurisdiction," Norton said. "It is counterproductive to deny the District control over its own law enforcement agencies. Forty-five years after passage of the Home Rule Act, matters involving our courts almost never come to Congress, so Congress knows nothing about our courts and, I am sure, could not care less about the courts of a local jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the importance of our courts to our residents, the D.C. Council, which is the repository of knowledge and experience for our criminal and civil justice systems and the body accountable to our residents, is irresponsibly left on the sidelines while Congress remains the sole entity to correct flaws in the District's courts."

Under the HRA, the Council has no authority to "enact any act, resolution, or rule with respect to any provision of title 11 of the District of Columbia Code (relating to organization and jurisdiction of the District of Columbia courts)." Norton's bill would strike this provision from the HRA. Matters in title 11 include rules of criminal and civil procedure, court administration, the number of authorized judges, the branches of the courts, the rules of jury service and admission to the bar.

The District has never had the authority over its local courts, even when it was responsible for paying for them. Under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, the federal government assumed the costs for several state-level functions, including the courts, from the District. Norton's bill would not affect the authority of the President to nominate, or the Senate to confirm, local judges.

Norton has introduced several bills this Congress to reduce the federal government's control over local law enforcement and the local criminal and civil justice systems in the District:

• The District of Columbia Local Prosecutor Establishment Act of 2017 (H.R. 1523) would allow the District to prosecute all crimes committed under its local laws. Currently, the U.S. Attorney for the District prosecutes almost all crimes committed by adults under local D.C. laws.
• The District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act (H.R. 1658) would give the D.C. mayor the authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard for local matters. Unlike governors of the states, and even territories, the District's chief executive officer has no authority over its local Guard.
• The District of Columbia Home Rule Clemency Act (H.R. 1765) would give the District exclusive authority, like the states and territories, to grant clemency to offenders convicted under its local laws. Currently, this authority is exercised in D.C. by the President.
• The District of Columbia Federal Officials Residency Equality Act of 2017 (H.R. 2177) would require federal district court judges, the U.S. Attorney, and the U.S. Marshals for D.C. to live in D.C. In nearly every other jurisdiction in the United States, such officials are required to reside within the jurisdictions where they are appointed.
• The District of Columbia Civil Enforcement Equality Act (H.R. 4678) would allow the District to enter into contracts with private attorneys to sue on the District's behalf for violations of D.C. law that may otherwise go unpunished due to a lack of resources. States, cities and most federal agencies have the authority to enter into such contracts to sue for violations of their laws.
• The District of Columbia Courts Vacancy Reduction Act (H.R. 6009) would allow local District court nominees to be seated after a 30-day congressional review period, unless a resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during that period. Currently, nominees cannot be seated without affirmative Senate approval.
• The District of Columbia Police Home Rule Act (H.R. 6129) would repeal the President's authority to assume emergency control of the local D.C. police department.