Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On

Funding For The Justice For All Act Programs

December 18, 2007

  

Mr. LEAHY.  Mr. President, I am pleased to note that we included funding in the appropriations package for landmark programs created by the Justice For All Act of 2004.  Specifically, we provide $2.5 million for Capital Litigation Improvement Grants to improve the quality of legal representation in state capital cases, and over $152 million to improve Federal and State DNA collection and analysis systems critical to the prosecution of the guilty and the protection of the innocent from wrongful prosecution.

 

Within the DNA funding is $4.8 million for the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing grants to help exonerate the innocent, solve crimes and lead to the incarceration of the real criminals; and $147 million for Debbie Smith DNA backlog grants.

 

The Justice For All Act capped more than four years of effort by a bipartisan House and Senate coalition that included both supporters and opponents of the death penalty.  It is the most significant step we have taken in many years to improve the quality of justice in this country and restore public confidence in the integrity of the American justice system.

 

That law increased Federal resources for combating crimes with DNA technology, established safeguards to prevent wrongful convictions and executions, and enhanced protections for victims of Federal crimes.

 

It authorized the Debbie Smith grant program to address the DNA backlog crisis in the nation’s crime labs, and created new grant programs to reduce other forensic science backlogs, train criminal justice and medical personnel in the use of DNA evidence, and promote the use of DNA technology to identify missing persons.  It also established enhanced and enforceable rights for crime victims in the Federal criminal justice system.

 

The law also included legislation I authored called the Innocence Protection Act.  That measure provides access to post-conviction DNA testing in Federal cases, helps States improve the quality of legal representation in capital cases, and increases compensation in Federal cases of wrongful conviction.  It established the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program to help states defray the costs of post-conviction DNA testing.

 

Getting the Justice For All Act fully-funded has proven to be tough, especially given the fiscal crunch that all criminal justice programs have faced in recent years.  However, as a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee that sets the Justice Department budget, I have worked closely with CJS Chairwoman Mikulski and Ranking Member Shelby to include in the omnibus package roughly $155 million to advance the comprehensive and far-reaching reforms in the criminal justice system established under the Justice For All Act.  I thank my colleagues for their leadership in this area.

 

State and local authorities will be better able to implement and enforce crime victims’ rights laws, including Federal victim and witness assistance programs.  They can apply for grants to develop and implement victim notification systems so that they can share information on criminal proceedings in a timely and efficient manner.

 

The intent of the Justice For All Act was to create a fairer and more accurate system of justice for all Americans.  The spending priorities set forth in the Justice Department portion of the FY08 Omnibus Appropriations package will help protect crime victims, maximize the use of forensic DNA evidence testing, and provide safeguards to prevent wrongful convictions and executions.

 

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