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116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 568
To require the Governor of a State to submit to the Attorney General
an annual report on the number of individuals who represented them-
selves in court in criminal matters or juvenile delinquency matters, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 15, 2019
Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Ms. NORTON, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To require the Governor of a State to submit to the Attorney
General an annual report on the number of individuals
who represented themselves in court in criminal matters
or juvenile delinquency matters, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Status of the Sixth
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Amendment Act of 2019’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDING.
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Congress finds that the Sixth Amendment to the
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Constitution of the United States provides that ‘‘In all
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•HR 568 IH
criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to
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. . . have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.’’.
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SEC. 3. REPORT ON INDIVIDUALS WHO REPRESENT THEM-
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SELVES IN CRIMINAL MATTERS OR JUVENILE
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DELINQUENCY MATTERS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 3
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years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an-
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nually thereafter, the Governor of each State that receives
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a grant from the Office of Justice Programs shall submit
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to the Attorney General a report which contains, at a min-
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imum, the information described in subsection (b)(1) for
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each of the categories described in subsection (b)(2) for
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the previous year for that State.
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(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—
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(1) INFORMATION
DESCRIBED.—The informa-
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tion described in this paragraph is as follows:
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(A) The number of charges for which an
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individual was prosecuted.
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(B) The number of charges for which a de-
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fendant waived his or her right to counsel.
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(C) The number of charges for which a de-
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fendant was represented in court by counsel
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who was publicly appointed.
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(D) The number of charges for which a de-
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fendant was represented in court by counsel
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who was not publicly appointed.
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(2) OFFENSE
CATEGORIES
DESCRIBED.—The
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categories of offenses described in this paragraph
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are as follows:
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(A) Criminal offenses for which a term of
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imprisonment of more than one year may be
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imposed.
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(B) Criminal offenses for which a term of
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imprisonment of one year or less may be im-
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posed, including misdemeanors, traffic viola-
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tions, and violations of municipal ordinances.
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(C) Acts of juvenile delinquency or juvenile
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status offenses for which any term of detention
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may be imposed.
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(c) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—The Attorney Gen-
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eral shall make the reports required under subsection (a)
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publicly available on the Internet website of the Depart-
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ment of Justice.
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