To repeal provisions of the PROTECT Act that do not specifically deal with the prevention of the exploitation of children.

May 20, 2003

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To repeal provisions of the PROTECT Act that do not specifically deal with the prevention of the exploitation of children.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Judicial Use of Discretion to Guarantee Equity in Sentencing Act of 2003' or `JUDGES Act'.

SEC. 2. A REPORT ON THE INCIDENCE OF DOWNWARD DEPARTURES.

(a) REPORT REQUIRED- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the United States Sentencing Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the incidence of downward departures from the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

(b) CONTENT OF REPORT- The report required by subsection (a) shall include--

(1) a discussion of the history and purpose of departures in the Federal sentencing guideline system;

(2) information on rates of departures from the sentencing guidelines, including information on variations in departure rates among different districts and judicial circuits, and among different offense and departure types, and an assessment of the factors that may account for these variations;

(3) an analysis of the grounds provided by district court judges when they depart from the guidelines, and whether the Commission should adopt guidelines or policy statements to prohibit, encourage, or discourage departures based on such grounds;

(4) a review of departure appeals, including trends in the number and disposition of departure appeals;

(5) a comparison of the departure authority in Federal law with the departure authority in mandatory State sentencing guideline systems;

(6) an assessment of the extent to which departures from the sentencing guidelines circumvent or promote operation of the sentencing guidelines system;

(7) an assessment of the extent to which departures from the sentencing guidelines undermine or promote the purposes of sentencing as set forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code;

(8) an assessment of variations in the magnitude of departures and the frequency with which the final sentences result in imprisonment, intermediate conditions of confinement, or release;

(9) an assessment of the extent to which existing mechanisms to review departures from the sentencing guidelines are sufficient to ensure that the purposes of sentencing referred to in paragraph (7) are achieved; and

(10) any other information, assessments, or recommendations that the Commission considers to be appropriate.

(c) PUBLIC HEARING- In preparing the report, the Commission shall--

(1) hold at least 1 public hearing on the subject of guideline departures; and

(2) solicit the views of the Federal judiciary, the Department of Justice, the defense bar, and other interested parties.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF NONCONFORMING PROVISIONS.

(a) REPEAL-

(1) IN GENERAL- Subsections (c) through (h), and (j) through (n) of section 401 the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003, or the PROTECT Act, are repealed effective April 30, 2003.

(2) NO EFFECT- Subsections (c) through (h), and (j) through (n) of section 401 of the PROTECT Act, and the amendments made by those subsections, shall be deemed to have never taken effect.

(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT- Section 401 of the PROTECT Act is amended by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (c).

END