United States · Bill · S
S. 328 (115th)
Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
Introduced
7 February 2017
Last action
7 February 2017 · Introduced
Status
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsors
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Subjects
Discovery layer
Source updated
10 August 2026
Summary
Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017 This bill states that an indigent individual facing criminal prosecution or juvenile delinquency in a state court is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel, as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, at the state's expense. It authorizes a federal class action lawsuit against a state for its systemic failure to guarantee the right to effective assistance of counsel. The assistance of counsel is ineffective when a class of individuals demonstrates that counsel's performance was not reasonable under prevailing professional norms. Additionally, the bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to modify the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. Specifically, it requires a state or local government to consult with public defenders before distributing JAG funds to community organizations and local governments.
This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.
Timeline
7 February 2017
Introduced
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Source: IntroReferral
7 February 2017
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
Source: IntroReferral
Votes
No vote records are attached yet.
Versions
- Introduced in Senate · 7 February 2017 · Download file
Documents
3 official files
Introduced in Senate (text)
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Introduced in Senate (text)
Introduced in Senate · EN · 7 February 2017
Introduced in Senate (PDF)
Introduced in Senate · EN · 7 February 2017
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Introduced in Senate
summary · EN · 7 February 2017
Leesvertaling
Vertaal dit document naar jouw taal. PoliticalRepo bewaart geen aparte kopie per EU-taal.
Documentvertaling op verzoek met downloadbare PDF (logo + link naar de officiële bron). Het bronbestand blijft leidend.
Sponsors
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] · D · Sponsor
- · ssju00 · Standing
Related records
- related to ← Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
- related to ← Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2016
Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/328
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/115/s/328
- us · 115-s-328 · source updated 10 August 2026