[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9045 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9045
To prohibit searches based on race, ethnicity, national origin,
religion, or sex, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 21, 2020
Mr. Kennedy (for himself and Mr. Jeffries) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit searches based on race, ethnicity, national origin,
religion, or sex, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Citizen Justice Restoration Act of
2020''.
SEC. 2. PRETEXTUAL ACTION UNDER COLOR OF LAW.
(a) In General.--A person, acting under color of State or Federal
law, may not base, to any degree, a decision to search, seize, or
scrutinize an individual on actual or perceived race, ethnicity,
national origin, religion, or sex (including gender, gender identity,
and sexual orientation).
(b) Inadmissibility of Evidence.--Except as provided in subsection
(c), evidence obtained as a result of such a search or seizure in
violation of subsection (a) shall not be admissible to be offered as
evidence against a defendant--
(1) in any Federal or State criminal proceeding, including
a proceeding for revocation of parole and probation; or
(2) in any civil enforcement proceeding brought by the
United States, any State, or any agency or political
subdivision thereof.
(c) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply in the case of a
search or seizure that was motivated by reasonable suspicion based on
specific and articulable facts that include trustworthy distinguishing
information, relevant to the locality and timeframe, about an
individual who committed an identified crime, which information
includes a particular characteristic described in subsection (a), if
that distinguishing information is sufficiently specific that it does
not describe a substantial subset of individuals sharing that
characteristic, or of individuals of the relevant age sharing that
characteristic.
SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY OF THE CONSTITUTION, LAWS, AND TREATIES OF THE
UNITED STATES ON COLLATERAL REVIEW.
(a) Grant of Habeas Corpus When Judgment in Error.--Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, an application for a writ of habeas corpus
on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State
court shall be granted with respect to any Federal claim that was
adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings, which
adjudication was in error.
(b) New Constitutional Rules.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, in the case of a new rule of constitutional law announced by
the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals, or
the United States District Court--
(1) such rule shall be retroactive to cases on collateral
review;
(2) an application for a writ of habeas corpus raising a
claim under such rule may be made at any time; and
(3) a second or successive application for a writ of habeas
corpus may be made seeking the benefit of such rule regardless
of whether the same claim was presented in a prior application
made prior to the announcement of the new rule.
SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Laws Against Discrimination.--An ambiguity in a statute that
provides protection against discrimination on the basis of race, color,
ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, or sex (including
gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation) shall be construed in
the manner that will provide the greatest protection against such
discrimination. For purposes of this subsection, the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb-1) is not a statute that
provides protection against discrimination on the basis of religion.
(b) Other Laws.--An ambiguity in a statute designed to provide
protection for freedom of speech or of the press, or for individual
informational privacy, or for the environment, or for consumers, shall
be construed in the manner that will provide the greatest protection
for freedom of speech or of the press, or for individual informational
privacy, for the environment, or for consumers, respectively.
(c) Constitutional Avoidance.--No statute described in this section
shall be construed so as to avoid a constitutional question if that
construction differs from the construction required under this section.
(d) Liberal Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to prevent the liberal construction of any statute not specified in
this section, in order to serve its remedial purpose.
SEC. 5. PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an
individual may bring an action in the appropriate district court of the
United States seeking damages and injunctive relief for a violation of
a Federal law or regulation if the individual--
(1) is within a class of individuals that the law or
regulation was intended to or does benefit; and
(2) was harmed by the violation of the law or regulation,
regardless of whether the law or regulation provides such a private
right of action, or provides other enforcement mechanisms.
(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply in the case of a
Federal law or regulation that explicitly precludes a private right of
action.
SEC. 6. BOUNTY FOR CITIZEN SUITS.
(a) In General.--In any civil action brought under any citizen suit
provision under a Federal law, in which the plaintiff prevails in whole
or in part, the court shall award the plaintiff a bounty of $100 to be
paid by the defendant against whom the plaintiff prevailed.
(b) Multiple Plaintiffs.--In the case of a civil action described
in subsection (a) in which there are multiple plaintiffs, the court
shall divide the award under subsection (a) equally among the
plaintiffs.
(c) Joint and Several Liability.--In the case of a civil action
described in subsection (a) in which there are multiple defendants,
such defendants are jointly and severally liable for the award
described in subsection (a).
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any
person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act, and
the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances
shall not be affected thereby.
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