Back the Blue Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1569 To protect law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2023 Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. MORAN, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. FISCHER, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. BRITT, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. RISCH, Mr. RICKETTS, Mr. DAINES, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. LANKFORD, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. COTTON, Mr. THUNE, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. ERNST, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. SCHMITT, Ms. LUMMIS, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To protect law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Back the Blue Act 4 of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. 6 (a) KILLING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1569 IS (1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 51 of title 18, United 1 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 2 following: 3 ‘‘§ 1123. Killing of law enforcement officers 4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 5 ‘‘(1) the terms ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ 6 and ‘United States judge’ have the meanings given 7 those terms in section 115; 8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘federally funded public safety of- 9 ficer’ means a public safety officer or judicial officer 10 for a public agency that— 11 ‘‘(A) receives Federal financial assistance; 12 and 13 ‘‘(B) is an agency of an entity that is a 14 State of the United States, the District of Co- 15 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 16 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 17 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 18 lands, or any territory or possession of the 19 United States, an Indian tribe, or a unit of 20 local government of that entity; 21 ‘‘(3) the term ‘firefighter’ includes an individual 22 serving as an official recognized or designated mem- 23 ber of a legally organized volunteer fire department 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1569 IS and an officially recognized or designated public em- 1 ployee member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew; 2 ‘‘(4) the term ‘judicial officer’ means a judge or 3 other officer or employee of a court, including pros- 4 ecutors, court security, pretrial services officers, 5 court reporters, and corrections, probation, and pa- 6 role officers; 7 ‘‘(5) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 8 an individual, with statutory arrest powers, involved 9 in crime or juvenile delinquency control or reduction 10 or enforcement of the laws; 11 ‘‘(6) the term ‘public agency’ includes a court 12 system, the National Guard of a State to the extent 13 the personnel of that National Guard are not in 14 Federal service, and the defense forces of a State 15 authorized by section 109 of title 32; and 16 ‘‘(7) the term ‘public safety officer’ means an 17 individual serving a public agency in an official ca- 18 pacity, as a law enforcement officer, as a firefighter, 19 as a chaplain, or as a member of a rescue squad or 20 ambulance crew. 21 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for any person 22 to— 23 ‘‘(1) kill, or attempt or conspire to kill— 24 ‘‘(A) a United States judge; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1569 IS ‘‘(B) a Federal law enforcement officer; or 1 ‘‘(C) a federally funded public safety offi- 2 cer while that officer is engaged in official du- 3 ties, or on account of the performance of offi- 4 cial duties; or 5 ‘‘(2) kill a former United States judge, Federal 6 law enforcement officer, or federally funded public 7 safety officer on account of the past performance of 8 official duties. 9 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 10 (b) shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not 11 less than 10 years or for life, or, if death results, shall 12 be sentenced to not less than 30 years and not more than 13 life, or may be punished by death.’’. 14 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 15 for chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, is 16 amended by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘1123. Killing of law enforcement officers.’’. (b) ASSAULT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 18 (1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 7 of title 18, United 19 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 20 following: 21 ‘‘§ 120. Assaults of law enforcement officers 22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘feder- 23 ally funded State or local law enforcement officer’ means 24 an individual involved in crime and juvenile delinquency 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1569 IS control or reduction, or enforcement of the laws (including 1 a police, corrections, probation, or parole officer) who 2 works for a public agency (that receives Federal financial 3 assistance) of a State of the United States or the District 4 of Columbia. 5 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful to assault a fed- 6 erally funded State or local law enforcement officer while 7 engaged in or on account of the performance of official 8 duties, or assaults any person who formerly served as a 9 federally funded State or local law enforcement officer on 10 account of the performance of such person’s official duties 11 during such service, or because of the actual or perceived 12 status of the person as a federally funded State or local 13 law enforcement officer. 14 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 15 (b) shall be subject to a fine under this title and— 16 ‘‘(1) if the assault resulted in bodily injury (as 17 defined in section 1365), shall be imprisoned not less 18 than 2 years and not more than 10 years; 19 ‘‘(2) if the assault resulted in substantial bodily 20 injury (as defined in section 113), shall be impris- 21 oned not less than 5 years and not more than 20 22 years; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1569 IS ‘‘(3) if the assault resulted in serious bodily in- 1 jury (as defined in section 1365), shall be impris- 2 oned for not less than 10 years; 3 ‘‘(4) if a deadly or dangerous weapon was used 4 during and in relation to the assault, shall be im- 5 prisoned for not less than 20 years; and 6 ‘‘(5) shall be imprisoned for not more than 1 7 year in any other case. 8 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No prosecution of any of- 10 fense described in this section may be undertaken by 11 the United States, except under the certification in 12 writing of the Attorney General, or a designee, 13 that— 14 ‘‘(A) the State does not have jurisdiction; 15 ‘‘(B) the State has requested that the Fed- 16 eral Government assume jurisdiction; 17 ‘‘(C) the verdict or sentence obtained pur- 18 suant to State charges left demonstratively 19 unvindicated the Federal interest in eradicating 20 bias-motivated violence; or 21 ‘‘(D) a prosecution by the United States is 22 in the public interest and necessary to secure 23 substantial justice. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1569 IS ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 1 this subsection shall be construed to limit the au- 2 thority of Federal officers, or a Federal grand jury, 3 to investigate possible violations of this section. 4 ‘‘(e) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 5 ‘‘(1) OFFENSES NOT RESULTING IN DEATH.— 6 Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall 7 be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense 8 under this section unless the indictment for such of- 9 fense is found, or the information for such offense 10 is instituted, not later than 7 years after the date 11 on which the offense was committed. 12 ‘‘(2) OFFENSES RESULTING IN DEATH.—An in- 13 dictment or information alleging that an offense 14 under this section resulted in death may be found or 15 instituted at any time without limitation.’’. 16 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 17 for chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is 18 amended by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘120. Assaults of law enforcement officers.’’. (c) FLIGHT TO AVOID PROSECUTION FOR KILLING 20 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.— 21 (1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 49 of title 18, United 22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 23 following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1569 IS ‘‘§ 1075. Flight to avoid prosecution for killing law 1 enforcement officials 2 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for any person 3 to move or travel in interstate or foreign commerce with 4 intent to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement 5 after conviction, under the laws of the place from which 6 the person flees or under section 1114 or 1123, for a crime 7 consisting of the killing, an attempted killing, or a con- 8 spiracy to kill a Federal judge or Federal law enforcement 9 officer (as those terms are defined in section 115), or a 10 federally funded public safety officer (as that term is de- 11 fined in section 1123). 12 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 13 (a) shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not 14 less than 10 years, in addition to any other term of impris- 15 onment for any other offense relating to the conduct de- 16 scribed in subsection (a).’’. 17 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 18 for chapter 49 of title 18, United States Code, is 19 amended by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘1075. Flight to avoid prosecution for killing law enforcement officials.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1569 IS SEC. 3. SPECIFIC AGGRAVATING FACTOR FOR FEDERAL 1 DEATH PENALTY KILLING OF LAW ENFORCE- 2 MENT OFFICER. 3 (a) AGGRAVATING FACTORS FOR HOMICIDE.—Sec- 4 tion 3592(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 5 by inserting after paragraph (16) the following: 6 ‘‘(17) KILLING OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFI- 7 CER, PROSECUTOR, JUDGE, OR FIRST RESPONDER.— 8 The defendant killed or attempted to kill a person 9 who is authorized by law— 10 ‘‘(A) to engage in or supervise the preven- 11 tion, detention, or investigation of any criminal 12 violation of law; 13 ‘‘(B) to arrest, prosecute, or adjudicate an 14 individual for any criminal violation of law; or 15 ‘‘(C) to be a firefighter or other first re- 16 sponder.’’. 17 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON FEDERAL HABEAS RELIEF FOR 18 MURDERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. 19 (a) JUSTICE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS 20 AND THEIR FAMILIES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2254 of title 28, 22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 23 end the following: 24 ‘‘(j)(1) For an application for a writ of habeas corpus 25 on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1569 IS of a State court for a crime that involved the killing of 1 a public safety officer (as that term is defined in section 2 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 3 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10284)) or judge, while 4 the public safety officer or judge was engaged in the per- 5 formance of official duties, or on account of the perform- 6 ance of official duties by or status as a public safety officer 7 or judge of the public safety officer or judge— 8 ‘‘(A) the application shall be subject to the time 9 limitations and other requirements under sections 10 2263, 2264, and 2266; and 11 ‘‘(B) the court shall not consider claims relating 12 to sentencing that were adjudicated in a State court. 13 ‘‘(2) Sections 2251, 2262, and 2101 are the exclusive 14 sources of authority for Federal courts to stay a sentence 15 of death entered by a State court in a case described in 16 paragraph (1).’’. 17 (2) RULES.—Rule 11 of the Rules Governing 18 Section 2254 Cases in the United States District 19 Courts is amended by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing: ‘‘Rule 60(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil 21 Procedure shall not apply to a proceeding under 22 these rules in a case that is described in section 23 2254(j) of title 28, United States Code.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1569 IS (3) FINALITY OF DETERMINATION.—Section 1 2244(b)(3)(E) of title 28, United States Code, is 2 amended by striking ‘‘the subject of a petition’’ and 3 all that follows and inserting: ‘‘reheard in the court 4 of appeals or reviewed by writ of certiorari.’’. 5 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—This paragraph and the 7 amendments made by this paragraph shall 8 apply to any case pending on or after the date 9 of enactment of this Act. 10 (B) TIME LIMITS.—In a case pending on 11 the date of enactment of this Act, if the amend- 12 ments made by this paragraph impose a time 13 limit for taking certain action, the period of 14 which began before the date of enactment of 15 this Act, the period of such time limit shall 16 begin on the date of enactment of this Act. 17 (C) EXCEPTION.—The amendments made 18 by this paragraph shall not bar consideration 19 under section 2266(b)(3)(B) of title 28, United 20 States Code, of an amendment to an application 21 for a writ of habeas corpus that is pending on 22 the date of enactment of this Act, if the amend- 23 ment to the petition was adjudicated by the 24 court prior to the date of enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1569.IS S1569 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1569 IS SEC. 5. SELF-DEFENSE RIGHTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT 1 OFFICERS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United 3 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3053 4 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]