H.R. 968 · 115th Congress
Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
MaloneySponsor9 cosponsors · 9 D
D
Cummings
HJ
D
Jeffries
JB
D
Beatty
AH
D
Hastings
JK
D
Kennedy
EN
D
Norton
JS
D
Schakowsky
AS
D
Smith
TC
D
Cárdenas2 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill states that an indigent individual facing criminal prosecution or juvenile delinquency in a state court is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel, as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, at the state's expense.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Feb 7, 2017
Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
This bill states that an indigent individual facing criminal prosecution or juvenile delinquency in a state court is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel, as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, at the state's expense.
The bill authorizes a federal class action lawsuit against a state for its systemic failure to guarantee the right to effective assistance of counsel. The assistance of counsel is ineffective when a class of individuals demonstrates that counsel's performance was not reasonable under prevailing professional norms.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
Latest action (Mar 9, 2017): Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement · Origin: House · Introduced: Feb 7, 2017
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.