,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #efeh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #ag1 #bjbj,ms4 ,wasserman ,schultz 7for herself and ,mr4 ,sensenbrenner7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to protect the rights of crime victims1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,crime ,victims' ,rights ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,crime ,victims' rights ,section #cgga of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7c7-- 7,a7 in the heading1 strike ,best2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking shall make their best efforts to see and all that follows through the period at the end and insert the following3 shall-- 7,a7 ensure that crime victims are notified of1 and accorded1 the rights described in subsection 7a72 or 7,b7 in the case that officers and employees of the ,department of ,justice are unable meet the requirements of subparagraph 7,a71 attempt to notify the crime victim or the legal representative of the crime victim on not less than #c occasions in which the mode of contact is valid1 including outreach by means of telephone1 electronic mail1 or certified mail2 2 7#b7 in subsection 7d7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#b71 strike reasonable procedure and insert reasonable procedure1 in writing12 and 7,b7 in paragraph 7#c71 by adding at the end the following3 ,relief under this subsection with respect to the conduct of an attorney for the ,government may include the disqualification of the attorney from the proceeding1 and such other sanctions or penalties as the court determines appropriate42 and 7#c7 by repealing subsection 7f74 #c4 ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #bcg of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cggb4 ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established within the ,office of ,professional ,responsibility of the ,department of ,justice the ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights1 which shall receive1 investigate1 and adjudicate complaints relating to the violation of the rights of a crime victim under section #cgga4 7b7 ,crime ,victims' ,rights ,coordinator ,the ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights shall be headed by the ,crime ,victims' ,rights ,coordinator 7in this section referred to as the ,coordinator74 ,the ,coordinator shall be a civil servant appointed to the ,senior ,executive ,service4 ,the ,coordinator may be removed from office1 other than by impeachment and conviction1 only by the personal action of the ,attorney ,general and only for good cause1 physical or mental disability 7if not prohibited by law protecting persons from discrimination on the basis of such disability71 or any other condition that substantially impairs the performance of his or her duties4 7c7 ,complaints ,a crime victim or the legal representative of a crime victim may submit to the ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights a complaint alleging that an attorney for the ,government violated the rights of a crime victim under section #cgga1 which shall include the following3 7#a7 ,the full name1 address1 telephone number1 and electronic mail address of the complainant4 7#b7 ,the name and title of the individual who violated the rights of the crime victim4 7#c7 ,the right of the crime victim that was allegedly violated4 7#d7 ,the details of the allegation1 including the name of the court case and the jurisdiction in which the misconduct occurred1 if applicable4 7#e7 ,copies of any document that supports the complainant's allegation4 7#f7 ,any other information relevant to the complaint4 7d7 ,period ,to submit complaints ,a complaint under subsection 7c7 may be submitted beginning on the date of the violation and ending on the date that is #ahj days after a final judgment is entered in the underlying criminal proceeding 7including any appeal71 except that the ,coordinator may extend such filing period for good cause4 7e7 ,log of complaints ,the ,coordinator shall maintain a log of each complaint submitted under subsection 7c74 7f7 ,complaint process 7#a7 ,investigation ,not later than #ahj days after receiving a complaint under subsection 7c71 the ,coordinator shall complete an investigation and issue a final order with respect to an alleged violation4 ,at the request of the ,coordinator1 the ,attorney ,general may grant one extension of not more than #fj days under this paragraph4 7#b7 ,hearing ,in conducting an investigation under paragraph 7#a71 the ,coordinator may hold a hearing1 and shall hold a hearing at the written request of the complainant submitted not later than #ae days after the ,coordinator acknowledges receipt of the complaint4 7#c7 ,standard ,if the ,coordinator determines1 by a preponderance of the evidence1 that the attorney for the ,government knowingly violated the rights of a crime victim under section #cgga1 the ,coordinator shall impose appropriate disciplinary action against the attorney under paragraph 7#d77;,a7 and1 except as provided in paragraph 7#d77;,b77iii71 make the final order issued under paragraph 7#d7 available to the public4 7#d7 ,order of decision 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,coordinator shall issue an order with respect to a complaint filed under this section1 and shall provide the order to the complainant and to the attorney for the ,government4 7,b7 ,contents of order 7i7 ,violation of rights ,in the case that the ,coordinator determines that the attorney for the ,government violated the rights of a crime victim under section #cgga1 the ,coordinator may impose disciplinary action which may consist of-- 7,i7 referral to each ,state bar association of which the attorney is a member in good standing not later than #cj days after the date on which the final order is made available2 7,,ii7 suspension or termination from employment2 7,,iii7 suspension from practicing law on behalf of the ,united ,states2 and 7,,iv7 referral to the appropriate ,united ,states ,attorney if there is evidence of criminal misconduct4 7ii7 ,lesser violations ,in the case that there is substantial evidence of an ethical violation by the attorney for the ,government that does not amount to a violation of the rights of a crime victim under section #cgga1 the ,coordinator may refer such violation-- 7,i7 to the ,director of ,office of ,professional ,responsibility for adjudication2 7,,ii7 to each ,state bar association of which the attorney is a member in good standing2 and 7,,iii7 to the appropriate supervisor of the attorney4 7iii7 ,no violation or insufficient evidence ,in the case that the ,coordinator determines that the attorney for the ,government did not violate section #cgga or that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether the attorney for the ,government violated section #cgga1 the ,coordinator shall enter an order to such effect4 ,an order under this clause shall not be made available to the public4 7iv7 ,delayed effect ,any sanctions imposed pursuant to an order under this section may not take effect until after the expiration of the time period to file an appeal1 or in the case that an appeal is pending1 until after the appeal is final4 7v7 ,notice of determination ,not later than #cj days after the date of which the period to seek a review expires1 notice of the issuance of a final order shall be made publicly available on the website of the ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights4 7#e7 ,appeal to the ,attorney ,general 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #aj business days after the issuance of an order under paragraph 7#d71 the complainant or the attorney for the ,government may appeal the order to the ,attorney ,general4 7,b7 ,time for review ,not later than #cj days after an appeal is filed under this paragraph1 the ,attorney ,general shall review the order4 7,c7 ,notice to ,congress ,in the case that the ,attorney ,general does not uphold the decision of the ,coordinator1 the ,attorney ,general shall notify ,congress as soon as practicable1 but in no case later than #aj business days after completing review4 7,d7 ,failure to review ,if the ,attorney ,general fails to review an order pursuant to an appeal filed under this paragraph1 the order shall be deemed to have been upheld by the ,attorney ,general on the date that is #de days after the appeal is filed4 7g7 ,rights of complainant ,the complainant shall have the following rights3 7#a7 ,notice of receipt ,the ,coordinator shall provide to the complainant notice of receipt of a complaint not later than #aj days after the date of such receipt4 7#b7 ,right to ,counsel 7,a7 ,in general ,the complainant shall have the right to be represented by legal counsel in any hearing under this section4 7,b7 ,pro bono representation ,the ,coordinator shall submit to the complainant a list of persons 7updated not less often than quarterly7 who have indicated their availability to represent crime victims on a pro bono basis4 7,c7 ,contact information of counsel ,in the case that a complainant is represented by legal counsel in a hearing convened under this section1 the contact information of such attorney shall be included on the complaint4 7,d7 ,notice of withdrawal ,in the case that legal counsel for a complainant withdraws from such representation1 the attorney shall provide notice to the ,coordinator4 7#c7 ,right to present evidence ,the complainant shall have the right to present evidence and witnesses at any hearing under this section4 7h7 ,rights of attorney for the ,government ,any attorney for the ,government against whom a complaint has been submitted to the ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights is entitled to-- 7#a7 receive notice of a complaint against the attorney not later than #aj days after such complaint is received by the ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights2 7#b7 a reasonable time to answer in writing and to furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence in support of the answer2 7#c7 be represented by legal counsel2 7#d7 be present at any hearing under this section2 7#e7 present evidence and witnesses in their defense2 7#f7 a copy of any final order imposing disciplinary action not later than the date on which the order is issued2 7#g7 end the complaint process by voluntarily forfeiting the attorney's bar license in each jurisdiction in which the attorney is licensed2 and 7#h7 reasonable and timely access to access records of the ,department of ,justice related to the complaint4 7i7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section1 and each year thereafter1 the ,attorney ,general1 acting through the ,chief ,counsel of the ,office of ,professional ,responsibility of the ,department of ,justice1 shall submit to ,congress a report that includes-- 7#a7 the number of complaints filed with the ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights2 7#b7 the number of complaints that are investigated2 7#c7 the number of complaints that were referred to a ,state bar association2 7#d7 a list of ,federal districts in which misconduct was alleged to have occurred and the number of complaints from each such district2 7#e7 a list of attorneys against whom more than #e complaints have been submitted to the ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights2 and 7#f7 a list of each alleged violation under section #cgga and information on how frequently each such violation was reported4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #bcg of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cggb4 ,office of ,crime ,victims' ,rights4 4