Molly
04-01-2003, 07:21 PM
Federal Public Defender (Western District of WA), Tom Hillier, wrote a letter to Sens. Patrick Leahy and Edward Kennedy, along with a summary of the Feeney amendment that he drafted. This material was provided by Mary Price at FAMM and is included below. It is a useful, thumbnail summary. This legislation is on the fast track and will go to conference shortly.
On March 27, 2003, the House of Representatives agreed to the Feeney Amendment to HR1104, a substitute version of a Senate-passed child pornography bill. It is my understanding that a conference has been requested. The Feeney Amendment, which was allowed 20 minutes of debate, is a Department of Justice sponsored set of changes to the laws that govern sentencing practice in federal courts. The proposed changes are monumental in scope and will dramatically alter the role and independence of the federal judiciary in the sentencing process. That the Feeney Amendment received virtually no attention or debate is inexplicable unless one assumes that it was produced at a time and in a way designed to escape detection and debate before its passage.
On March 27, 2003, the House of Representatives agreed to the Feeney Amendment to HR1104, a substitute version of a Senate-passed child pornography bill. It is my understanding that a conference has been requested. The Feeney Amendment, which was allowed 20 minutes of debate, is a Department of Justice sponsored set of changes to the laws that govern sentencing practice in federal courts. The proposed changes are monumental in scope and will dramatically alter the role and independence of the federal judiciary in the sentencing process. That the Feeney Amendment received virtually no attention or debate is inexplicable unless one assumes that it was produced at a time and in a way designed to escape detection and debate before its passage.