,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hdff ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #cj1 #bjbj ,mr4 ,swalwell of ,california 7for himself and ,mr4 ,mc,caul7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to provide for a system for reviewing the case files of cold case murders at the instance of certain persons1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,homicide ,victims' ,families' ,rights ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,case ,file ,review 7a7 ,in general ,an applicable agency shall review the case file regarding a cold case murder upon written application by a designated person to determine if a full reinvestigation would result in probative investigative leads4 7b7 ,review ,the case file review shall include-- 7#a7 an analysis of what investigative steps or follow-up steps may have been missed in the initial investigation2 7#b7 an assessment of whether witnesses should be interviewed or reinterviewed2 7#c7 an examination of physical evidence to see if all appropriate forensic testing and analysis was performed in the first instance or if additional testing might produce information relevant to the investigation2 and 7#d7 a modernization of the file to bring it up to current investigative standards to the extent it would help develop probative leads4 7c7 ,reviewer ,the person or persons doing the review required by subsection 7a7 shall not have previously investigated the murder at issue4 7d7 ,acknowledgment ,the applicable agency shall confirm in writing receipt of the request provided for under subsection 7a74 7e7 ,prohibition on multiple concurrent reviews ,only one case review shall be undertaken at any one time with respect to the same cold case murder victim4 7f7 ,time limit ,no later than six months after the receipt of the written application submitted pursuant to subsection 7a71 the applicable agency shall conclude its case file review and reach a conclusion about whether or not a full reinvestigation under section #e is warranted4 7g7 ,extensions 7#a7 ,in general ,the applicable agency may extend the limit in subsection 7f7 for periods of time not to exceed six months if said agency makes a finding that the number of case files to be reviewed make it impracticable to comply with said limit without unreasonably taking resources from other law enforcement activities4 7#b7 ,actions ,subsequent to ,waiver ,for cases for which the time limit in subsection 7f7 is extended1 the applicable agency shall provide notice and an explanation of its reasoning to the designated person who filed the written application pursuant to this section4 #c4 ,application ,each agency shall develop a written application to be used for designated persons to request a case file review under section #b4 #d4 ,notice ,each agency shall provide notice of the rights under this ,act to designated persons as soon as is reasonable after being made aware of a murder4 #e4 ,full reinvestigation 7a7 ,in general ,the applicable agency shall conduct a full reinvestigation of the cold case murder at issue if the review of the case file required by section #b concludes that a full reinvestigation of such cold case murder would result in probative investigative leads4 7b7 ,reinvestigation ,a full reinvestigation shall include analyzing all evidence regarding the cold case murder at issue for the purpose of developing probative investigative leads as to the perpetrator4 7c7 ,reviewer ,the person or persons doing the full reinvestigation required by subsection 7a7 shall not have previously investigated the murder at issue1 except for the case file review pursuant to section #b4 7d7 ,prohibition on ,multiple ,concurrent ,reviews ,only one full reinvestigation shall be undertaken at any one time with respect to the same cold case murder victim4 #f4 ,consultation and updates 7a7 ,in general ,the applicable agency shall consult with the designated person who filed the written application pursuant to section #b and provide him or her with periodic updates during the case file review and full reinvestigation4 7b7 ,explanation of ,conclusion ,the applicable agency shall explain to the designated person who filed the written application pursuant to section #b its decision whether or not to engage in the full reinvestigation provided for under section #e at the conclusion of the case file review4 #g4 ,subsequent reviews 7a7 ,case file review ,if a case file review is done and a conclusion is reached not to conduct a full reinvestigation1 no additional case file review shall be undertaken for a period of five years4 7b7 ,full ,reinvestigation ,if a full reinvestigation is done and a suspect is not identified at its conclusion1 no additional case file review or full reinvestigation shall be undertaken for a period of five years4 #h4 ,data collection 7a7 ,in general ,beginning three years after enactment of this ,act1 the ,national ,institute of ,justice shall publish annually statistics on the number of cold cases4 7b7 ,manner of ,publication ,the statistics published pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall1 at a minimum1 be broken down by the type of crime and agency4 #i4 ,procedures to promote compliance 7a7 ,regulations ,not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the head of each ,federal agency shall promulgate regulations to enforce the rights of designated persons and to ensure compliance by responsible officials with the obligations described in this ,act4 7b7 ,procedures ,the regulations promulgated under subsection 7a7 shall-- 7#a7 designate an administrative authority within the agency to receive and investigate complaints relating to the provision or violation of the rights of designated persons2 7#b7 require a course of training for employees and offices of agencies within the agency regarding the rights under this ,act2 7#c7 contain disciplinary sanctions1 including suspension or termination from employment1 for employees of the agency who willfully or wantonly fail to comply with this ,act2 7#d7 establish a process for investigations into the conduct of those no longer employed by the ,federal ,government when a complaint is filed and a process for referrals of recommended sanctions with respect to such conduct to the appropriate ,state bar or other licensing body2 and 7#e7 provide that the head of the agency1 or the designee thereof1 shall be the final arbiter of the complaint1 and that there shall be no judicial review of the final decision of the head of the agency by a complainant4 #aj4 ,withholding information ,nothing in this ,act shall require an agency to provide information that would endanger the safety of any person1 unreasonably impede an ongoing investigation1 violate a court order1 or violate legal obligations regarding privacy4 #aa4 ,applicability ,this ,act applies in the case of any murder occurring on or after ,january #a1 #aigj4 #ab4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,the term designated person means an immediate family member or someone similarly situated as defined by the ,department of ,justice4 7#b7 ,the term immediate family member means a parent1 parent-in-law1 grandparent1 grandparent-in-law1 sibling1 spouse1 child1 or step-child of a murder victim4 7#c7 ,the term victim means a natural person who died as a result of a murder4 7#d7 ,the term murder means any criminal offense under section #aaaa7;a7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or any offense the elements of which are substantially identical to such section4 7#e7 ,the term agency means a ,federal law enforcement entity that is engaged in the detection1 investigation1 or prosecution of murder under ,federal law4 7#f7 ,the term applicable agency means an agency that is investigating or had investigated the murder of a victim4 7#g7 ,the term cold case means a violent crime under ,federal law committed more than three years prior and for which all probative investigative leads have been exhausted4 7#h7 ,the term cold case murder means a murder committed more than three years prior and for which all probative investigative leads have been exhausted4 #ac4 ,annual report 7a7 ,in general ,each applicable agency shall submit an annual report to the ,senate ,committee on the ,judiciary and the ,house ,committee on the ,judiciary describing actions taken and results achieved under this ,act during such year4 7b7 ,report ,described ,the report described in the preceding subsection shall include the number of written applications filed pursuant to section #b1 the number of extensions granted and an explanation of reasons provided under section #b7;g71 the number of full reinvestigations initiated and closed pursuant to section #e1 the number of suspects identified1 arrested1 charged1 and convicted for the cold case murder investigated under the ,act4