District of Columbia Courts Improvement Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7941 To amend title 11, District of Columbia Official Code, to expand the authori- ties of magistrate judges of the District of Columbia courts, to modernize the rules and procedures for the service of jurors in District of Columbia courts, to authorize the establishment of a program of voluntary separa- tion incentive payments for nonjudicial employees of the District of Columbia courts and employees of the District of Columbia Public De- fender Service, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 4, 2020 Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To amend title 11, District of Columbia Official Code, to expand the authorities of magistrate judges of the Dis- trict of Columbia courts, to modernize the rules and procedures for the service of jurors in District of Colum- bia courts, to authorize the establishment of a program of voluntary separation incentive payments for non- judicial employees of the District of Columbia courts and employees of the District of Columbia Public De- fender Service, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7941 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia 2 Courts Improvement Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY OF MAGISTRATE 4 JUDGES OF SUPERIOR COURT TO PERFORM 5 CERTAIN JUDICIAL FUNCTIONS. 6 (a) EXPANDED AUTHORITIES DESCRIBED.—Section 7 11–1732(j), District of Columbia Official Code, is amend- 8 ed by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following: 9 ‘‘(5) Issue arrest and search warrants pursuant 10 to subchapters II and IV of chapter 5 of title 23, 11 District of Columbia Official Code, and search war- 12 rants pursuant to section 14 of the Uniform Nar- 13 cotic Drug Act (52 Stat. 792; sec. 48–921.02, D.C. 14 Official Code). 15 ‘‘(6) In the case of proceedings which are initi- 16 ated prior to the expiration of the 5-year period 17 which begins on the date of the enactment of the 18 District of Columbia Courts Improvement Act of 19 2020, conduct hearings, make findings, and enter in- 20 terim and final orders or judgments in uncontested 21 or contested proceedings in the Probate and Civil 22 Divisions of the Superior Court, excluding the fol- 23 lowing proceedings: 24 ‘‘(A) Trials. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7941 IH ‘‘(B) Contested motions to dismiss, for 1 judgment on the pleadings, and for summary 2 judgment. 3 ‘‘(7) Enter an order punishing an individual for 4 contempt, except that no individual may be detained 5 pursuant to the authority of this paragraph for 6 longer than 180 days, and such an order shall not 7 be subject to the limitations and exclusions applica- 8 ble to orders under paragraph (6). 9 ‘‘(8) In addition to the functions described in 10 the preceding paragraphs, with the consent of the 11 parties involved, conduct hearings, make findings, 12 and enter interim and final orders or judgments in 13 all other uncontested or contested proceedings in the 14 Civil, Criminal, and Probate Divisions and the Fam- 15 ily Court of the Superior Court, excluding jury trials 16 in the Criminal Division and trials of felony cases in 17 the Criminal Division.’’. 18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO RE- 19 VIEW OF ORDERS AND JUDGMENTS.—Section 11– 20 1732(k), District of Columbia Official Code, is amended 21 by striking ‘‘With respect to proceedings’’ and all that fol- 22 lows through ‘‘in the case of magistrate judges’’ and in- 23 serting the following: ‘‘With respect to hearings and pro- 24 ceedings under paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (6), (7), and (8) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7941 IH of subsection (j) (or proceedings and hearings under sec- 1 tion 11–1732A(d), in the case of magistrate judges’’. 2 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Paragraphs (1), (2), 3 (3), and (4) of section 11–1732(j), District of Columbia 4 Official Code, are each amended by striking the semicolon 5 at the end and inserting a period. 6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 7 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 8 of this Act, except that paragraph (5) of section 11– 9 1732(j), District of Columbia Official Code (as amended 10 by subsection (a)), shall take effect on the effective date 11 of a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this 12 Act by the government of the District of Columbia which 13 amends section 23–501(1), District of Columbia Official 14 Code, and section 14 of the Uniform Narcotic Drug Act 15 (52 Stat. 792; sec. 48–921.02, D.C. Official Code) to take 16 such paragraph (as amended by subsection (a)) into ac- 17 count. 18 SEC. 3. MODERNIZATION OF RULES AND PROCEDURES RE- 19 LATING TO SERVICE OF JURORS. 20 (a) ESTABLISHING FEES FOR JURORS SERVING IN 21 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AT 22 SAME RATES PAID FOR JURORS SERVING IN UNITED 23 STATES DISTRICT COURTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7941 IH (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEES.—Section 11– 1 1912(a), District of Columbia Official Code, is 2 amended to read as follows: 3 ‘‘(a) Grand and petit jurors serving in the Superior 4 Court shall receive fees and expenses at rates equivalent 5 to the rates provided under section 1871 of title 28, 6 United States Code, for fees and allowances paid to grand 7 and petit jurors appearing in the district courts of the 8 United States.’’. 9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 15– 10 718, District of Columbia Official Code, is repealed. 11 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 12 by this subsection shall apply with respect to fees 13 and expenses paid on or after the first day of the 14 first fiscal year which begins after the date of the 15 enactment of this Act. 16 (b) MODERNIZING PROCESS FOR SERVING OF SUM- 17 MONSES.— 18 (1) JUROR QUALIFICATION FORMS.—Section 19 11–1906(c), District of Columbia Official Code, is 20 amended— 21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘shall 22 provide that a juror qualification form be 23 mailed’’ and inserting ‘‘shall require that a 24 juror qualification form be provided’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7941 IH (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘return’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘submit’’. 2 (2) USE OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION.— 3 Section 11–1907(a), District of Columbia Official 4 Code, is amended by striking the last sentence and 5 inserting the following: ‘‘Under the jury system plan, 6 service of prospective jurors may be made person- 7 ally, by mail, or, with the consent of the prospective 8 juror, by electronic communication.’’. 9 (c) PERMITTING INDIVIDUALS 70 YEARS OF AGE OR 10 OLDER TO OPT OUT OF SERVICE.—Section 11–1908(b), 11 District of Columbia Official Code, is amended— 12 (1) by striking ‘‘or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)’’; 13 and 14 (2) by striking the period at the end of the first 15 sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘; or (5) ex- 16 cluded by the Court upon the request of the indi- 17 vidual if the individual is 70 years of age or older.’’. 18 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR PROGRAM OF VOLUNTARY 19 SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS. 20 (a) PROGRAM FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 21 COURTS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 11, Dis- 23 trict of Columbia Official Code, is amended by in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7941 IH serting after section 11–1726 the following new sec- 1 tion: 2 ‘‘§ 11–1726A. Voluntary separation incentive pay- 3 ments 4 ‘‘The Joint Committee on Judicial Administration 5 may, by regulation, establish a program substantially simi- 6 lar to the program established under subchapter II of 7 chapter 35 of title 5, United States Code, for nonjudicial 8 employees of the District of Columbia courts, except that 9 the maximum amount of the payment made under the pro- 10 gram to any individual may not exceed the amount re- 11 ferred to in section 3523(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United States 12 Code.’’. 13 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 14 tents of chapter 17 of title 11, District of Columbia 15 Official Code, is amended by inserting after the item 16 relating to section 11–1726 the following new item: 17 ‘‘11–1726A. Voluntary separation incentive payments.’’. (b) PROGRAM FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC 18 DEFENDER SERVICE.—Section 305 of the District of Co- 19 lumbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 20 (sec. 2–1605, D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding 21 at the end the following new subsection: 22 ‘‘(d) The Director may establish a program substan- 23 tially similar to the program established under subchapter 24 II of chapter 35 of title 5, United States Code, for employ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7941 IH ees of the Service, except that the maximum amount of 1 the payment made under the program to any individual 2 may not exceed the amount referred to in section 3 3523(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United States Code.’’. 4 (c) NO EFFECT ON PREVIOUS PAYMENTS.—Nothing 5 in this section or the amendments made by this section 6 may be construed to affect any voluntary separation incen- 7 tive payment made prior to the date of the enactment of 8 this Act under a program established by the Joint Com- 9 mittee on Judicial Administration in the District of Co- 10 lumbia or the District of Columbia Public Defender Serv- 11 ice. 12 SEC. 5. ADJUSTMENTS IN COMPENSATION RATES FOR CER- 13 TAIN PERSONNEL. 14 (a) ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING INDIGENT DEFEND- 15 ANTS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 11–2604(a), District 17 of Columbia Official Code, is amended by striking 18 ‘‘at a fixed rate of $90 per hour’’ and inserting ‘‘an 19 hourly rate not to exceed the rate payable under sec- 20 tion 3006A(d)(1) of title 18, United States Code’’. 21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 22 by this section shall apply with respect to cases and 23 proceedings initiated on or after the date of the en- 24 actment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7941 IH (b) CRIMINAL JUSTICE INVESTIGATORS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 11–2605, District of 2 Columbia Official Code, is amended by striking ‘‘(or, 3 in the case of investigative services, a fixed rate of 4 $25 per hour)’’ each place it appears in subsections 5 (b) and (c). 6 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 7 by this section shall apply with respect to investiga- 8 tive services provided in connection with cases and 9 proceedings initiated on or after the date of the en- 10 actment of this Act. 11 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY OF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF COURTS 12 OVER REGISTER OF WILLS. 13 (a) APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 11–1725(b), District 15 of Columbia Official Code, is amended— 16 (A) by inserting ‘‘the Register of Wills,’’ 17 after ‘‘the clerks of the courts,’’; and 18 (B) by striking ‘‘(other than the Register 19 of Wills and personal law clerks and secretaries 20 of the judges)’’ and inserting ‘‘(other than per- 21 sonal law clerks and judicial administrative as- 22 sistants of the judges)’’. 23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 11– 24 2102(a), District of Columbia Official Code, is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7941 IH amended by striking ‘‘The Superior Court shall ap- 1 point and remove’’ and inserting ‘‘Pursuant to sec- 2 tion 11–1725(b), the Executive Officer of the Dis- 3 trict of Columbia Courts shall appoint and may re- 4 move’’. 5 (b) DETERMINATION OF COMPENSATION.—Section 6 11–2102(c), District of Columbia Official Code, is amend- 7 ed to read as follows: 8 ‘‘(c) The compensation of the Register of Wills shall 9 be fixed in accordance with section 11–1726(a).’’. 10 (c) ASSIGNMENT OF DUTIES.—Section 11–2103, 11 District of Columbia Official Code, is amended by striking 12 ‘‘the chief judge of the Superior Court’’ and inserting ‘‘the 13 Executive Officer of the District of Columbia Courts’’. 14 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF RETROACTIVE PAY ADJUST- 15 MENTS FOR COURT EMPLOYEES. 16 Section 11–1726, District of Columbia Official Code, 17 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 18 section: 19 ‘‘(d) Retroactive pay may be payable to an employee 20 of the District of Columbia courts by reason of an increase 21 in the salary or pay schedule applicable to the employee 22 pursuant to this section which occurs during fiscal year 23 2020 or any succeeding fiscal year, but only if— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7941 IH ‘‘(1) the employee is in the service of the Dis- 1 trict of Columbia courts on the date of final action 2 by the Executive Officer regarding the increase; or 3 ‘‘(2) the employee retired or died during the pe- 4 riod beginning on the effective date of the increase 5 and ending on the date of final action by the Execu- 6 tive Officer regarding the increase, except that retro- 7 active pay for such an employee shall be provided 8 only with respect to services performed during that 9 period.’’. 10 SEC. 8. REVISING CERTAIN REFERENCES. 11 (a) REFERENCES TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DIVI- 12 SION.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The District of Columbia 14 Official Code is amended by striking ‘‘Domestic Vio- 15 lence Unit’’ each place it appears in the following 16 sections and inserting ‘‘Domestic Violence Division’’: 17 (A) Section 11–902(d). 18 (B) Section 11–1101(b)(2). 19 (C) Section 11–1732. 20 (D) Section 16–1001(5). 21 (E) Section 16–1003(a). 22 (F) Section 16–1004(a). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7941.IH H7941 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7941 IH (2) SPECIAL RULES FOR MAGIS [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]