Norton Introduces Bill to Give D.C. a Local Prosecutor, Same Right Already Enjoyed by U.S. Territories
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill to create a local prosecutor's office, designated under local law, to prosecute all local crimes in the District of Columbia. Under federal law, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, a federal entity, is responsible for prosecuting almost all local crimes committed by adults here, the greater part of its caseload, in addition to prosecuting federal crimes. Norton noted that the territories of the United States all have local prosecutors to prosecute local crimes. Her bill would effectuate a 2002 advisory referendum, approved by 82 percent of D.C. voters, to create a local prosecutor's office.
"A U.S. Attorney has no business prosecuting the local crimes of a jurisdiction, an out-of-date status quo that harkens to pre-home-rule D.C.," Norton said. "The overwhelming majority of the U.S. Attorney's current caseload is local crimes. The U.S. Attorney for the nation's capital should be committed solely to the important federal matters that come to this office. D.C. should solely be responsible for prosecuting local crimes. My bill would simply give D.C. the same authority that the states and U.S. territories enjoy as an essential element of self-government."
Norton’s introductory statement follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
on the Introduction of the
District of Columbia Prosecutor Home Rule Act
January 13, 2025
Today, I introduce the District of Columbia Prosecutor Home Rule Act, which would give D.C. the authority to prosecute all crimes committed under its laws. Congress already allows D.C. to write D.C. criminal laws and allows D.C. to enforce them against some violators. Congress should allow D.C. to enforce D.C. laws against all violators. This bill would effectuate a 2002 advisory referendum, approved by 82 percent of D.C. voters, to create a local prosecutor’s office.
Currently, the U.S. Attorney for D.C. has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by adults and some by juveniles, while the D.C. Attorney General has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by juveniles and some by adults. Giving D.C. the authority to prosecute all D.C. crimes would not only give D.C. residents a say in the enforcement of all their laws, it also would save the federal government tens of millions of dollars a year by reducing the number of assistant U.S. attorneys in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
In the 117th Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill as part of my District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act of 2022.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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