HR 968
115th Congress
House
Crime and Law Enforcement
Civil actions and liability
Constitution and constitutional amendments
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Lawyers and legal services
Legal fees and court costs
State and local courts
Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017
Introduced: February 7, 2017
See on congress.gov
Everywhere this bill has been
4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 9, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Mar 9, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Feb 7, 2017
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Feb 7, 2017
Introduced in House
Plain-English summary
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.
What's happening now
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Committees of jurisdiction
3