Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

Summary

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Victims of Crime Subtitle A: Victims of Crime Subtitle B: Crime Victims' Fund Subtitle C: Report on Battered Women's Syndrome Title II: Applicability of Mandatory Minimum Penalties in Certain Cases Title III: Assaults Against Children Title IV: Consumer Protection Title V: Mandatory Life Imprisonment for Persons Convicted of Certain Felonies Title VI: Violent Repeat Offender Incarceration Title VII: Death Penalty Title VIII: Habeas Corpus Reform Title IX: Racially Discriminatory Capital Sentencing Title X: Crime Prevention and Community Justice Subtitle A: Model Intensive Grant Programs Subtitle B: Ounce of Prevention Grant Programs Subtitle C: Police Partnerships for Children Subtitle D: Midnight Sports Subtitle E: Drug Courts Subtitle F: Assistance for Delinquent and At-Risk Youth Subtitle G: Police Recruitment Subtitle H: National Triad Program Subtitle I: Local Partnership Act Subtitle J: Employment and Skills Crime Prevention Subtitle K: Miscellaneous Title XI: Youth Violence Title XII: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act of 1994 Title XIII: Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act Title XIV: Community Policing Title XV: DNA Identification Title XVI: Violence Against Women Subtitle A: Safe Streets for Women Subtitle B: Safe Homes for Women Subtitle C: Domestic Violence Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions Subtitle E: Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Title XVII: Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Title XVIII: Use of Formula Grants to Prosecute Persons Driving While Intoxicated Title XIX: Youth Handgun Safety Title XX: Substance Abuse Treatment in Federal Prisons Title XXI: Alternative Punishments for Young Offenders Title XXII: Juvenile Drug Trafficking and Gang Prevention Grants Title XXIII: Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 - Title I: Victims of Crime - Subtitle A: Victims of Crime - Amends Rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to give victims of violent crimes and sexual abuse the right to address the court concerning the sentence to be imposed on convicted offenders. Permits such right to be exercised by a parent or guardian if the victim is under 18, or by one or more family members if the victim is deceased or incapacitated. Subtitle B: Crime Victims' Fund - Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to revise the formula for allocation of sums in the Crime Victims Fund for costs and grants. Requires the retention of any portion of the Fund that was deposited during a fiscal year that is in excess of 110 percent of the total amount deposited in the Fund during the preceding fiscal year as a reserve for use in a year in which the Fund falls below the amount available in the previous year. Limits such reserve to $20,000,000. Allows any sums awarded as part of a grant that remains unspent at the end of a fiscal year in which the grant is made to be expended for grant purposes at any time during the succeeding two fiscal years, at the end of which year any remaining unobligated funds shall be returned to the Fund. (Sec. 112) Provides that if the compensation paid by an eligible crime victim compensation program would cover costs that a Federal, or a federally financed State or local, program would otherwise pay: (1) such victim compensation program shall not pay such compensation; and (2) the other program shall make its payments without regard to the existence of the crime victim compensation program. (Sec. 113) Limits to five percent of: (1) a grant the amount that may be used for the administration of the State crime victim compensation program receiving the grant; and (2) sums received for the State crime victim assistance program for the administration of such program. (Sec. 114) Authorizes grants for demonstration projects. (Sec. 116) Requires each entity receiving sums made available under the Act for administrative purposes to certify that such sums will not be used to supplant State or local funds, but to increase the amount of such funds that would, in the absence of Federal funds, be made available for such purposes. Subtitle C: Report on Battered Women's Syndrome - Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to specified congressional committees on the medical and psychological basis of "battered women's syndrome" and the extent to which evidence of the syndrome has been considered in a criminal trial. Title II: Applicability of Mandatory Minimum Penalties in Certain Cases - Amends the Federal criminal code to require the court, with respect to specified drug-related offenses, to impose a sentence pursuant to U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines, without regard to any statutory minimum sentence, if the court finds at sentencing that: (1) the defendant does not have more than one criminal history point under the Commission's Guidelines Manual; (2) the defendant did not use violence or credible threats of violence, or possess a firearm or other dangerous weapon (or induce another participant to do so), in connection with the offense; (3) the offense did not result in death or serious bodily injury to any person; (4) the defendant was not an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor of others (as determined under the Manual) in the offense; and (5) no later than the time of the sentencing hearing, the defendant has provided to the Government all information the defendant has concerning the offense or offenses that were part of the same course of conduct or of a common scheme or plan (without regard to whether the defendant has relevant or useful information). Authorizes the Commission to: (1) make such amendments as deemed necessary to harmonize the sentencing guidelines and policy statements with, and the amendment made by, such provisions; and (2) promulgate policy statements to assist in the application of such provisions and such amendment. (Sec. 202) Directs the Commission to promulgate or amend existing sentencing guidelines with respect to cases where statutory minimum sentences would apply but for such provisions to carry out the purposes of such provisions, so that the lowest sentence in the guideline range is not less than two years in those cases where a five-year minimum would otherwise apply. (Sec. 203) Specifies that, with respect to a prisoner the court determines has demonstrated good behavior while in prison, the changes in sentencing made as a result of this Act shall be deemed to be changes in the sentencing ranges by the Commission pursuant to provisions of the Federal judicial code regarding revision of the sentencing guidelines. Title III: Assaults Against Children - Increases penalties for simple assault. Sets penalties for assault resulting in substantial bodily injury. Removes dollar limitations on various types of assaults. Includes assaults against individuals under age 16 committed in Indian country among offenses which are subject to the same law and penalties as all other persons committing such offenses within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States. Title IV: Consumer Protection - Sets penalties for insurance industry crimes, including embezzling from insurance companies, making false entries in insurance company books with intent to deceive, and corruptly influencing or obstructing proceedings before State insurance regulatory agencies or insurance examiners. Prohibits persons convicted of criminal felonies involving dishonesty or breach of trust from engaging in the insurance business without the written consent of an insurance regulatory official authorized to regulate the insurer. Title V: Mandatory Life Imprisonment for Persons Convicted of Certain Felonies - Requires that a person convicted in a court of the United States of a serious violent felony be sentenced to life imprisonment if: (1) the person has been convicted (and those convictions have become final) on two or more prior occasions in a court of the United States or of a State of a serious violent felony, or of one or more serious violent felonies and one or more serious drug offenses; and (2) each serious violent felony or serious drug offense used as a basis for sentencing under such provision, other than the first, was committed after the defendant's conviction of the preceding serious violent felony or serious drug offense. (Sec. 502) Limits the authority of a court to modify an imposed term of imprisonment to include a requirement that the defendant be at least age 70 and have served at least 30 years in prison for the offense or offenses for which the defendant is currently imprisoned, and that a determination has been made by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons that the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or the community. Title VI: Violent Repeat Offender Incarceration - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to individual States and to States organized as multi-State compacts to develop, expand, modify, or improve correctional facilities and programs to ensure that prison cell space is available for the confinement of violent repeat offenders. Sets forth provisions regarding State eligibility and matching requirements, technical assistance and training, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Death Penalty - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for the imposition of the death penalty for specified drug-related offenses committed as part of a continuing criminal enterprise, and where a defendant has been found guilty of treason or espionage, or of specified other offenses involving the intentional: (1) killing of the victim; (2) infliction of serious bodily injury resulting in death; (3) participation in an act contemplating that the life of a person would be taken or intending that lethal force would be used and the victim died as a direct result; or (4) specifically engaging in an act of violence, knowing that the act created a grave risk of death, that constituted a reckless disregard for human life and the victim died as a direct result of the Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) mitigating and aggravating factors to be considered in determining whether a sentence of death is justified; (2) the conduct of a special hearing to make such determination; (3) procedures for the imposition, review, and implementation of such sentence; (4) use of State facilities to carry out such sentence; and (5) special provisions for Indian country. (Sec. 703) Authorizes the death penalty for various offenses, including, where death results: (1) hostage taking; (2) murder for hire; (3) racketeering; (4) genocide; (5) carjacking; (6) rape and child molestation murders; (7) sexual exploitation of children; (8) homicides involving firearms in Federal facilities; (9) murder of Federal witnesses; (10) foreign murder of U.S. nationals; (11) civil rights murders; (12) murder by a Federal prisoner, or by escaped prisoners; (13) drive-by shootings; (14) gun murders during Federal crimes of violence and drug trafficking crimes; (15) murder of State or local officials assisting Federal law enforcement officials and State correctional officers; (16) use of weapons of mass destruction; (17) violence at international airports; (18) violence against maritime navigation or fixed platforms; (19) torture; and (20) genocide. (Sec. 715) Makes an exception to the requirement that the court furnish to a defendant a list of the veniremen and witnesses if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that providing the list may jeopardize the life or safety of any person. Title VIII: Habeas Corpus Reform - Amends the Federal judicial code to impose a one-year period for the filing of Federal habeas corpus petitions for applicants under sentence of death, beginning after the date of: (1) denial of a writ of certiorari, if a petition for such writ to the highest court of the State on direct appeal or unitary review of the conviction and sentence is filed, within the time limits established by law, in the Supreme Court; (2) issuance of the mandate of the highest court of the State on direct appeal or unitary review of the conviction and sentence, if a petition for a writ of certiorari is not filed within such time limits in such Court; or (3) issuance of the mandate of the Supreme Court, if on a petition for a writ of certiorari the Supreme Court grants the writ and disposes of the case in a manner that leaves the capital sentence undisturbed. Tolls such time limits during: (1) any period in which the State has failed to provide counsel as required by this Act; (2) the period from the date the applicant files an application for State postconviction relief until final disposition of the application by the State appellate courts, if all filing deadlines are met; and (3) an additional period not to exceed 90 days, if counsel moves for an extension in the district court that would have jurisdiction of a habeas corpus application and makes a showing of good cause. (Sec. 802) Provides an automatic stay of execution through the consideration of the first Federal habeas corpus petition. Permits a stay of execution to be granted thereafter only if the petition on its face satisfies the requirements for successive petitions. (Sec. 803) Prohibits a Federal court from applying a new rule to grant relief to a habeas corpus petitioner, except where the new rule places the claimant's conduct beyond the power of the criminal law-making authority to proscribe or punish with the sanction imposed or requires the observance of procedures without which the likelihood of an accurate conviction or valid capital sentence is seriously diminished. (Sec. 804) Prohibits the court from either presuming a finding of fact made in a State court proceeding to be correct or declining to consider a claim on the ground that it was not raised in such proceeding at the time or in the manner prescribed by State law unless: (1) the relevant State maintains a mechanism for providing legal services to indigents which meets specified requirements; (2) the applicant was eligible for the appointment of counsel and did not waive such appointment, and the State actually appointed counsel to represent the applicant in the State proceeding in which the finding of fact was made or the default occurred; and (3) the attorney or attorneys so appointed substantially met specified qualification and performance standards. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) State establishment of a counsel authority; (2) claims of the ineffectiveness or incompetence of counsel; and (3) attorney compensation, reimbursement for expenses incurred in representing clients, and support services for staff attorneys of a defender organization or resource center. (Sec. 805) Requires that a claim presented in a second or successive application be dismissed unless: (1) the applicant shows that the basis of the claim could not have been discovered by the exercise of reasonable diligence before the applicant filed the prior application, or the failure to raise the claim in the prior application was due to action by State officials in violation of the U.S. Constitution; and (2) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the applicant's guilt of the offense or offenses for which the capital sentence was imposed, or in the validity of that sentence under Federal law. (Sec. 806) Prohibits an appeal from being taken to the court of appeals from the final order in a habeas corpus proceeding where the detention complained of arises out of process issued by a State court, unless the justice or judge who rendered the order or a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of probable cause. Grants an applicant under sentence of death a right of appeal without a certification of probable cause, except after denial of a second or successive application. (Sec. 807) Sets forth duties of the district court in adjudicating the merits of claims, in handling claims of innocence, and in declining to consider claims under specified circumstances. Title IX: Racially Discriminatory Capital Sentencing - Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit the execution of a sentence of death imposed on the basis of race. Specifies that: (1) an inference that race was the basis of a death sentence is established if valid evidence is presented demonstrating that, at the time the sentence was imposed, race was a statistically significant factor in decisions to seek or to impose the death sentence in the jurisdiction in question; and (2) evidence relevant to establish such an inference may include proof that death sentences were, at the pertinent time, being imposed significantly more frequently in the jurisdiction in question upon, or as punishment for capital offenses against, persons of one race than persons of another race. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) validity of evidence presented to establish such inference, and rebuttal of such inference; and (2) access to data on death eligible cases. Title X: Crime Prevention and Community Justice - Subtitle A: Model Intensive Grant Programs - Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to not more than 15 chronic high intensive crime areas to develop comprehensive model crime prevention programs that: (1) involve and utilize a broad spectrum of community resources and appropriate State and Federal agencies; (2) attempt to relieve conditions that encourage crime; and (3) provide meaningful and lasting alternatives to involvement in crime. (Sec. 1002) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) uses of grant funds; and (2) program, application, and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Ounce of Prevention Grant Programs - Part I: Ounce of Prevention Grant Programs - Directs: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to convene an interagency task force to be known as the Ounce of Prevention Council, chaired by the Attorney General, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary; (2) the Council to advise and counsel the Secretary regarding administration of the programs established by this title; and (3) the Secretary to adopt regulations or guidelines to ensure that funding under this title shall be used primarily for assistance in distressed communities and for individuals in any area who are particularly in need of assistance. (Sec. 1011) Requires the Secretary to make grants to States, local governments, and other public and private entities for: (1) summer and after-school programs; (2) mentoring, tutoring, and other programs involving participation by adult role models; (3) programs assisting and promoting employability and job placement; and (4) substance abuse treatment and prevention, including outreach programs for at-risk families. Part II: Family and Community Endeavor Schools Grant Program - Authorizes grants for community-based organizations to assist in carrying out programs in public school facilities, where appropriate, and in certain other locations, for specified uses, including: (1) supervised sports programs and extracurricular and academic programs, offered after school and on weekends and holidays during the school year, and as daily full-day or part-day programs, during the summer months, including curriculum-based supervised education programs, health education and service programs, tutorial and mentoring programs, and other related activities (required use of funds by such organizations); and (2) renovation of facilities and development or expansion of school programs designed to improve academic and social development of at-risk children (permissible use of such funds). (Sec. 1017) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) eligible community identification (to be eligible to receive a grant, a community-based organization shall identify an eligible community to be assisted, meeting criteria such as significant poverty and juvenile delinquency); (2) application requirements and priorities in awarding grants; and (3) participant eligibility. (Sec. 1020) Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) establish a peer review panel comprised of individuals with demonstrated experience in designing and implementing community-based programs; and (2) conduct such investigations and inspections as necessary to ensure compliance under this part. (Sec. 1022) Sets forth provisions regarding the Federal share and regarding program evaluation. Part III: Administration - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to: (1) provide technical assistance, training, and evaluations to further the purposes of this subtitle through grants, contracts, or other cooperative agreements with other entities; and (2) conduct or support evaluations of programs that receive support under this subtitle. (Sec. 1026) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Police Partnerships for Children - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to partnerships (defined as cooperative arrangements or associations involving one or more law enforcement agencies (LEAs), and one or more public or private agencies that provide child or family services) for: (1) teams or units involving participants from both the law enforcement and child or family services components of the partnership that respond to or deal with violent incidents in which a child is involved as a perpetrator, witness, or victim; (2) training for law enforcement officers in behavior, psychology, family systems, and community culture and attitudes that is relevant to dealing with children who are involved in violent incidents or at risk of involvement in such incidents, or with families of such children; and (3) programs for children and families that are designed jointly by the law enforcement and child or family services components of the partnership. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make grants to units of State or local government, public housing authorities, owners of federally assisted housing, and owners of housing in high crime areas in order to provide dwelling units to law enforcement officers without charge or at or substantially reduced rent for the purpose of providing greater security for residents of high crime areas. (Sec. 1032) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) administration; and (2) technical assistance, training, and evaluation. (Sec. 1033) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Midnight Sports - Directs the Secretary of HUD to make grants, to the extent that sums are approved in appropriations Acts pursuant to this subtitle, to eligible entities (i.e., certain entities under the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, and nonprofit organizations providing crime prevention, employment counseling, job training, or other educational services, or federally-assisted low-income housing) to assist such entities in carrying out midnight sports league programs. Sets forth program, application, selection, and reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of HUD to make a grant to one qualified entity to carry out a study of the effectiveness of midnight sports league programs and require such entity to report its conclusions and recommendations to the Congress, the Secretary of HUD, and the Attorney General. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Drug Courts - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to units of State and local government, and to other public and private entities, for programs that involve continuing judicial supervision over specified categories of persons with substance abuse problems, and that involve the integrated administration of other sanctions and services including: (1) testing for the use of controlled substances or other addictive substances; (2) substance abuse treatment; (3) diversion, probation, or other supervised release involving the possibility of prosecution, confinement, or incarceration based on noncompliance with program requirements or failure to show satisfactory progress; and (4) programmatic or health related aftercare services. (Sec. 1043) Authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical assistance and training in furtherance of the purposes of, and to carry out or make arrangements for evaluations of programs that receive support under, this subtitle. (Sec. 1044) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Assistance for Delinquent and At-Risk Youth - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to public or private nonprofit organizations to support the development and operation of projects to provide residential services to youth aged 11 to 19 who have dropped out of school, come into contact with the juvenile justice system, or are at risk of doing so. Requires that such services include, with respect to such youth, activities designed to increase self-esteem, assist in making healthy and responsible choices, improve academic performance pursuant to a plan jointly developed by the applicant and the school which each such youth attends or should attend, and provide vocational and life skills. Sets forth application and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Police Recruitment - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to qualified community organizations to assist in meeting the costs of qualified programs designed to recruit and retain applicants of police departments. Sets forth requirements regarding qualified community organizations, qualified programs, applications, grant disbursement, grant period, and grantee reporting. Directs the Attorney General to prescribe guidelines on content and results for programs receiving grants under this subtitle. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle H: National Triad Program - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to conduct a qualitative and quantitative national assessment of: (1) the nature and extent of crimes committed against older Americans and the effect of such crimes on the victims; (2) the numbers, extent, and impact of violent crimes and nonviolent crimes against older Americans and the extent of unreported crimes; (3) the collaborative needs of law enforcement, health, and social service organizations, focusing on prevention of crimes against older Americans, to identify, investigate, and provide assistance to victims of those crimes; and (4) the development and growth of strategies to respond effectively to such matters. (Sec. 1068) Requires the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to make grants to coalitions of local LEAs and older Americans to assist in the development of programs and execute field tests of particularly promising strategies for crime prevention and related services based on the Triad model (which calls for the participation of the sheriff, at least one police chief, and a representative of at least one older Americans' organization within a county, and which may include participation by general service coalitions of law enforcement, victim service, and senior citizen advocate second service organizations), which can then be evaluated and serve as the basis for further demonstration and education programs. Sets forth provisions regarding application requirements, distribution of grant awards, and post-grant period reporting. (Sec. 1069) Requires, in conjunction with the national assessment, the Director of: (1) the BJA to make awards to organizations with demonstrated ability to provide training and technical assistance in establishing crime prevention programs based on the Triad model for purposes of aiding in the establishment and expansion of pilot programs under this subtitle, and to public service advertising coalitions for purposes of mounting a program of public service advertisements to increase public awareness and understanding of the issues surrounding crimes against older Americans and promoting ideas or programs to prevent them; and (2) NIJ to make awards to research organizations for purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of selected pilot programs and conducting the research and development identified through the national assessment as being critical. (Sec. 1070) Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 1071) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle I: Local Partnership Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make specified payments to units of local government to carry out programs related to education to prevent crime or substance abuse treatment to prevent crime. Requires that, of such payments, not less than ten percent of the total combined amounts obligated by the unit for contracts and subcontracts be expended with small business concerns controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and women, and colleges and universities which are historically Black and which have a student body in which more than 20 percent of the students are Hispanic Americans or Native Americans, with exceptions. Authorizes appropriations to a Local Government Fiscal Assistance Fund of the Department of the Treasury. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) qualification for payment; (2) State area allocations, and allocations and payments to territorial governments; (3) local government allocations; (4) income gap multipliers; (5) State variation of local government allocations; (6) adjustments of local government allocations; (7) information used in allocation formulas; (8) public participation; (9) prohibited discrimination; (10) discrimination proceedings and related issues (including enforcement by the Attorney General of prohibitions against discrimination and civil actions by adversely affected persons); (11) judicial review; (12) audits, investigations, and reviews; and (13) reporting requirements. Subtitle J: Employment and Skills Crime Prevention - Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make grants to local governments to fund targeted youth employment and skills development projects to help reduce crime in target areas (defined as neighborhoods which are high crime areas with high unemployment among young adults and other serious economic and social problems). (Sec. 1084) Makes young adults residing or attending school in target areas eligible to participate in programs funded under this subtitle if they are between 16 and 25 years of age (and, in certain circumstances, young adults up to age 30 and youth age 14 and 15). Sets conditions for continued participation in such programs, including avoiding crime, regular attendance and satisfactory performance at work, paying child support when paternity has been established and the participant has income, in-school young adults remaining in school until graduation, and requiring young adults ages 16-17 who have dropped out of high school and who have not obtained a General Equivalency Diploma to return to school or an alternative education program. (Sec. 1085) Authorizes the expenditure of funds for crime prevention related activities (subject to specified requirements), such as: (1) apprenticeship programs linking work and learning; (2) youth conservation and service corps; (3) work experience in private nonprofit organizations and public agencies; (4) initiatives to increase educational attainment, occupational skills, and career aspirations of target area young adults; and (5) job placement and related case management, followup, and other supportive services. (Sec. 1086) Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) grant applications; (2) award priorities; and (3) grant duration and number. (Sec. 1087) Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a system of performance measures for assessing programs established pursuant to this subtitle. Authorizes the Secretary to provide appropriate technical assistance to carry out youth employment and skills crime prevention programs under this subtitle. (Sec. 1090) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1091) Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to terminate or suspend financial assistance, in whole or in part, to a recipient or refuse to extend a grant for a recipient, if the Secretary determines that the recipient has failed to meet specified requirements. (Sec. 1092) Makes labor standards under the Job Training Partnership Act applicable to programs under this subtitle. (Sec. 1093) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) regulations or guidelines; (2) waivers; (3) private rights of action; and (4) acceptance of gifts. Subtitle K: Miscellaneous - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Omnibus Act) to permit the award of drug control and system improvement grants to State and local governments for the purpose of participating in multijurisdictional gang task forces. Title XI: Youth Violence - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for the prosecution as adults of juveniles age 13 or older for specified crimes of violence and crimes where the juvenile possessed a firearm during the offense, with exceptions regarding persons subject to the criminal jurisdiction of an Indian tribal government. Repeals restrictions on the Attorney General proceeding in Federal court against such juveniles with respect to such crimes. (Sec. 1102) Specifies that a juvenile shall not be transferred to adult prosecution nor shall a hearing be held under section 5037 (disposition after a finding of juvenile delinquency) (currently, proceedings against a juvenile or as an adult shall not be commenced) until specified conditions are met. (Sec. 1103) Provides that no juvenile committed, whether pursuant to an adjudication of delinquency or conviction for an offense (currently, no juvenile committed) to the custody of the Attorney General may be placed or retained in an adult jail or correctional institution in which he has regular contact with adults incarcerated because they have been convicted of a crime or are awaiting trial on criminal charges. Title XII: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act of 1994 - Sets penalties for: (1) international trafficking in child pornography; and (2) traveling in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to engage in a sexual act with a juvenile. (Sec. 1202) Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State that has not yet done so should enact legislation prohibiting the production, distribution, receipt, or simple possession of materials depicting a person under age 18 engaging in sexually explicit conduct and providing for a maximum imprisonment of at least one year and for the forfeiture of assets used in the commission or support of, or gained from, such offenses. Title XIII: Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act - Directs the Attorney General to establish guidelines for State programs requiring any person convicted of a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor to register a current address with a designated State law enforcement agency for ten years after release from prison, or being placed on parole, supervised release, or probation. Subjects to criminal penalties a person required to register under a State program who knowingly fails to register and keep such registration current. Title XIV: Community Policing - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Attorney General to make grants and provide technical assistance to units of State and local government, and to other public and private entities, to increase police presence (including the rehiring of law enforcement officers laid off as a result of State and local budget reductions, as well as the hiring and training of new, additional career law enforcement officers, for deployment in community-oriented policing), expand and improve cooperative efforts between LEAs and members of the community, and otherwise enhance public safety. Sets forth matching fund, application, and related requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title XV: DNA Identification - DNA Identification Act of 1994 - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the use of drug control and system improvement grants to develop or improve in a forensic laboratory a capability to analyze deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for identification purposes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1503) Requires the Director of the FBI to appoint in advisory board on DNA quality assurance methods and issue standards for quality assurance. Authorizes the Director to establish an index of DNA identification records of persons convicted of crimes, and of analyses of DNA samples recovered from crime scenes and from unidentified human remains. (Sec. 1505) Sets forth proficiency testing and privacy protection requirements, and penalties for violations. (Sec. 1506) Authorizes appropriations. Title XVI: Violence Against Women - Violence Against Women Act of 1994 - Subtitle A: Safe Streets for Women - Safe Streets for Women Act of 1994 - Amends the Omnibus Act to: (1) authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to reduce the rate of violent crime against women to States, Indian tribes, units of local government, tribal organizations, and nonprofit nongovernmental domestic violence and sexual assault victims services programs in the States or Indian country; and (2) the Attorney General to request any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement, to use its authorities and resources to support such State, tribal, and local efforts. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1603) Specifies that no State is entitled to funds under this title unless the State: (1) incurs the full cost of forensic medical exams for victims of sexual assault; (2) certifies that their laws, policies, and practices do not require, in connection with the prosecution of any domestic violence offense, that the abused bear costs associated with the filing of criminal charges or with the issuance or service of a warrant, protection order, or witness subpoena; and (3) can certify that its laws and policies treat sex offenses committed by offenders who are known to, cohabitants or social companions of, or related by blood or marriage to, the victim no less severely than sex offenders committed by offenders who are strangers to the victim. (Sec. 1606) Authorizes the Director to make education and prevention grants to reduce sexual assaults against women. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1607) Directs: (1) the NIJ to establish criteria and develop training programs to assist probation and parole officer and other personnel who work with released sex offenders in the areas of case management, supervision, and relapse prevention; and (2) the Attorney General to compile information regarding sex offender treatment programs and ensure that information regarding treatment programs in the community into which a convicted sex offender is released is made available to persons imprisoned in Federal penal or correctional institutions for sexual abuse offenses, including halfway houses and psychiatric institutions. (Sec. 1609) Amends the Federal criminal code to require that a court order restitution for violations of Federal sexual abuse laws, with exceptions. (Sec. 1610) Directs the Attorney General to provide for a baseline study to examine the scope of the problem of campus sexual assaults and the effectiveness of institutional and legal policies in addressing such crimes and protecting victims. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Safe Homes for Women - Safe Homes for Women Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for traveling across a State line with intent to: (1) contact that person's spouse or intimate partner and, in the course of such contact, intentionally committing a crime of violence causing bodily injury to such spouse or partner; and (2) engage in conduct that violates a protection order, any portion of which involves protection against credible threats of violence, repeated harassment, or bodily injury, to the person or persons for whom the protection order was issued and violates that portion of such order, or that would violate such order if the conduct occurred in the jurisdiction in which the order was issued and engaging in such conduct. Requires that, in any proceeding for the purpose of determining whether a defendant charged shall be released pending trial, or the conditions of such release, the alleged victim be given an opportunity to be heard regarding the danger posed by the defendant. Mandates that a court order restitution to the victim of an offense under this Act, with exceptions. Requires, provided that certain conditions are met, that a protection order issued by the court of one State or Indian tribe be accorded full faith and credit by the court of another State or tribe. (Sec. 1623) Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Director to make grants to eligible States, Indian tribes, or units of local government to encourage arrest policies in domestic violence cases, including mandatory arrest programs for protective order violations and improving judicial handling of such cases. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Domestic Violence - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the sale or other disposal of firearms or ammunition to, or the receipt of firearms of ammunition by, persons convicted of offenses involving domestic abuse. (Sec. 1626) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow an alien spouse to self-petition for immediate relative or second preference status if the alien demonstrates to the Attorney General that the alien is residing in the United States: (1) the marriage between the alien and the spouse was entered into in good faith by the alien, and during the marriage the alien or child of the alien has been battered by or has been the subject of extreme cruelty perpetrated by the alien's spouse; or (2) with the alien's spouse, the alien has been married to and residing with the spouse for not less than three years, and the alien's spouse has failed to file such a petition on behalf of the alien. Provides that, in the case of abused spouses and abused children who are self-petitioning, divorce may not be the basis for revocation of the petition. (Under current law and regulations, divorce results in the automatic revocation of an immediate relative and a second preference petition.) (Sec. 1627) Directs the Attorney General, in acting on spousal waiver applications, to consider any credible evidence submitted in support of the application (whether or not the evidence is supported by an evaluation of a licensed mental health professional). Specifies that the determination of what evidence is credible and the weight to be given the evidence shall be within the sole discretion of the Attorney General. (Sec. 1628) Waives the current seven-year residence requirement to apply for suspension of deportation. Makes suspension of deportation available to alien spouses and children who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by a spouse or parent who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident, provided that the alien spouse or child proves that he or she is a person of good moral character and that deportation would result in extreme hardship. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) conduct a study of the means by which abusive spouses may obtain information concerning the addresses or locations of estranged or former spouses, and transmit to the Congress a report based on the study; and (2) submit to the Congress a report and recommendations on problems of recordkeeping of criminal complaints involving domestic violence. (Sec. 1643) Directs the Attorney General to establish an Attorney General's Task Force on Violence Against Women to review Federal, State, and local strategies for preventing and punishing violent crimes against women and to make recommendations to improve the response to such crimes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1652) Amends the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 to direct the Attorney General to authorize the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime to provide for the payment of the cost of up to two tests of the victim for sexually transmitted diseases during the 12 months following sexual assaults that pose a risk of transmission, and the cost of a counseling session by a medically trained professional on the accuracy of such tests and the risk of transmission of such diseases to the victim as the result of the assault. (Sec. 1653) Directs the Attorney General to provide a grant to a nonprofit private organization to establish and operate a national, toll-free telephone hotline to provide information and assistance to victims of domestic violence. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1654) Amends the Omnibus Act to require the Director of the BJA to provide grants to establish projects in local communities involving many sectors of each community to coordinate intervention and prevention of domestic violence. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Equal Justice for Women in the Courts - Authorizes the State Justice Institute (SJI) to award grants for the purpose of developing, testing, presenting, and disseminating model programs to be used by States in training judges and court personnel in the laws of the State on rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes of violence motivated by gender. (Sec. 1663) Directs the SJI to ensure that such model programs are developed with the participation of law enforcement officials, public and private nonprofit victim advocates, legal experts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and recognized experts on gender bias in the courts. (Sec. 1664) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1665) Encourages the circuit judicial councils to conduct studies of the instances of gender bias in their respective circuits. Directs the: (1) Judicial Conference of the United States to designate an entity within the judicial branch to act as a clearinghouse to disseminate any reports and materials issued by gender bias task forces; and (2) Federal Judicial Center to disseminate information on issues relating to gender bias in the courts. (Sec. 1666) Authorizes appropriations to the: (1) Salaries and Expenses Account of the Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and other Judicial Services; (2) Federal Judicial Center; and (3) Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Directs the Judicial Conference to allocate funds to Federal circuit courts that undertake their own studies of gender bias or implement reforms recommended as a result of such studies in their own or other circuits. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the executive branch, working through the SJI, should examine programs which would allow the States to consider whether expert testimony regarding battered women's syndrome should be admissible by the defendant in criminal trials and specified related issues. Title XVII: Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement - Directs the Sentencing Commission to promulgate or amend existing guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements of not less than three offense levels for offenses that the finder of fact at trial determines beyond a reasonable doubt are hate crimes (assuring reasonable consistency with other guidelines, avoiding duplicative punishments for substantially the same offense, and taking into account any mitigating circumstances which might justify exceptions). Title XVIII: Use of Formula Grants to Prosecute Persons Driving While Intoxicated - Amends the Omnibus Act to permit the use of drug control and system improvement grant funds for programs for the prosecution of driving while intoxicated and the enforcement of other laws relating to alcohol use and the operation of motor vehicles. Title XIX: Youth Handgun Safety - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the possession of a handgun or ammunition by, or the private transfer of a handgun or ammunition to, a juvenile, with exceptions. Sets penalties for violations. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) evaluate existing and proposed juvenile handgun legislation in each State; (2) develop model juvenile handgun legislation that is constitutional and enforceable; (3) prepare and disseminate to State authorities the findings made as the result of the evaluation; and (4) report to the Congress findings and recommendations concerning the need or appropriateness of further Federal action. Title XX: Substance Abuse Treatment in Federal Prisons - Amends the Federal criminal code to direct the Bureau of Prisons to provide residential substance abuse treatment for not less than 50 percent of eligible prisoners by the end of FY 1995, for not less than 75 percent by the end of FY 1996, and for all eligible prisoners by the end of 1997 and thereafter. Grants priority for such treatment based on an eligible prisoner's proximity to release date. Permits sentence reductions of up to a year for a prisoner's successful completion of a residential substance abuse treatment program. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title XXI: Alternative Punishments for Young Offenders - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to States, for use by States and local government, for the purpose of developing alternative methods of punishment for young offenders to traditional forms of incarceration and probation. Sets forth provisions regarding State and local applications, review of State applications, allocation and distribution of funds, and evaluation. (Sec. 2102) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 2103) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should impose mandatory sentences for crimes involving the use of a firearm or other weapon on, or within a 100-yard radius of, school property. Title XXII: Juvenile Drug Trafficking and Gang Prevention Grants - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to States and units of local government, or combinations thereof, to assist them in planning, establishing, operating, coordinating, and evaluating projects for the development of more effective programs to reduce the formation or continuation of juvenile gangs and the use and sale of illegal drugs by juveniles. Sets forth provisions regarding permissible uses of grant funds and application requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title XXIII: Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to States, for use by States and local government, for the purpose of developing and implementing residential substance abuse treatment programs within State correctional facilities in which inmates are incarcerated for a period of time sufficient to permit substance abuse treatment. Sets forth provisions regarding State application requirements, review of applications, allocation and distribution of funds, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations.

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• Passed House amended

  summary · EN · 21 April 1994

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• Introduced in House (text)

  Introduced in House · EN · 18 March 1994

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• Introduced in House (PDF)

  Introduced in House · EN · 18 March 1994

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• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 18 March 1994

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