Justice Department Ethics: Legislative Activity in the 106th Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
May 11, 1999 |
| Report Number |
RS20081 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Charles Doyle, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Three bills have been introduced in the Senate that focus on issues of federal prosecutorial ethics
addressed in the Citizens Protection Act (McDade-Murtha) enacted as part of the omnibus
appropriations package on October 21, 1998 (¿801 of P.L. 105-277 ) and effective six months
thereafter. The McDade-Murtha provision requires Justice Department litigators to abide by the
ethical standards of the states and local federal courts where they conduct their activities. One of the
bills, S. 755 (introduced by Senator Hatch), would have simply delayed the effective date
of the McDade-Murtha provision an additional six months. The other two bills, S. 250
(also offered by Senator Hatch) and S. 855 (introduced by Senator Leahy), repeal
McDade-Murtha. S. 855 replaces it with a call for a "no contact" standard applicable
to Justice Department litigators and promulgated as an amendment to the federal rules of civil and
criminal procedure. S. 250 permits the Attorney General to release Department
litigators from otherwise applicable ethical standards that interfere with the effectuation of federal law
or policy.
In related developments, on March 24, 1999, Senate Thurmond presided over a hearing of the
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Oversight dealing with the effect of state ethics
rules on federal law enforcement. The Justice Department issued interim regulations implementing
McDade-Murtha on April 20, 1999, 64 Fed.Reg. 19273.
This is a sketch of S. 250 and of S. 855 as well as the issues they
address. A more extensive examination of those issues and citations for the authorities discussed here
appear in Justice Department Ethics and Section 801 of the Omnibus Appropriations Law for
Fiscal
Year 1999 , CRS Report RL30060(pdf) , (abridged as Justice Department Ethics and the
McDade-Murtha
Citizens Protection Act , CRS Report RS20064(pdf) ).
