Tagged: criminal procedure and sentencing

Fourth Amendment Restoration ActThis bill repeals the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (which authorizes various types of searches and surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes) and limits surveillance of U.S. citizens.The bill requires that an officer of the U.S. government obtain a warrant for certain search and surveillance activities against a U.S. citizen, including (1) conducting electronic surveillance, (2) conducting physical searches of property under a U.S. citizen's exclusive control, or (3) targeting a U.S. citizen to acquire foreign intelligence information.The bill provides for criminal penalties for a person who intentionally (1) violates these requirements without statutory authorization, or (2) discloses or uses information that the person knows (or has a reason to know) was obtained under color of law by methods that violate these requirements. Information about a U.S. citizen acquired under Executive Order 12333 (relating to intelligence gathering) or during surveillance of a non-U.S. citizen shall not be used against the U.S. citizen in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding or investigation.  

Stop Enabling Repeat Violence and Endangering Our Communities Act or the SERVE Our Communities Act This bill authorizes the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to states and local governments for mentoring, transitional services, and training to help offenders successfully reintegrate back into the community after incarceration. To be eligible for a grant, a state or local government must take steps to prevent repeat offenses by violent offenders and allow a state court or magistrate to consider the danger an individual poses to the community when determining bail or pretrial release conditions.

Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE ActThis bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.Specifically, the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill specifies what documents are considered acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship, such as identification that complies with the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates U.S. citizenship.Further, the bill (1) prohibits states from registering an individual to vote in a federal election unless, at the time the individual applies to register to vote, the individual provides documentary proof of U.S. citizenship; and (2) requires states to establish an alternative process under which an applicant may submit other evidence to demonstrate U.S. citizenship.Each state must take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, which shall include establishing a program to identify individuals who are not U.S. citizens using information supplied by certain sources.Additionally, states must remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters.The bill allows for a private right of action against an election official who registers an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.The bill establishes criminal penalties for certain offenses, including registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety ActThis bill establishes new federal criminal offenses for operating a motor vehicle within 100 miles of the U.S. border while fleeing from a U.S. Border Patrol agent or a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer who is actively assisting or under the command of the U.S. Border Patrol.The bill establishes criminal penalties for an offense, including a mandatory minimum prison term for an offense resulting in death or serious bodily injury. Additionally, a non-U.S. national who is convicted of or admits to committing an offense is inadmissible, deportable, and ineligible for immigration relief (including asylum).

Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence Act or the MEGOBARI ActThis bill requires the President to impose sanctions on certain foreign persons, including Georgian government officials, who are undermining Georgia's security or stability.Specifically, the bill requires the President to impose visa-blocking sanctions and authorizes the President to impose property-blocking sanctions on any foreign person the President determines is involved with actions or policies to undermine Georgia's security or stability. Immediate family members of a sanctioned individual are also subject to these sanctions if they benefited from the sanctioned individual's conduct. The bill also requires the President to impose visa-blocking sanctions on the following foreign persons if the President determines such persons knowingly engaged in significant acts of corruption or acts of violence or intimidation in relation to the blocking of Euro-Atlantic integration in Georgia: any individual who served as a member of the Georgian parliament or as a senior official of a Georgian political party on or after January 1, 2014;any individual who is serving as an official in a leadership position on behalf of the Georgian government; andany immediate family member of such officials who benefited from their conduct.Additionally, for the purpose of potential imposition of sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the President must determine whether there are foreign persons who, on or after the bill's enactment, have engaged in (1) significant corruption in Georgia, or (2) acts to undermine Georgia's security or stability.

Mens Rea Reform Act of 2025This bill establishes a default mens rea standard (i.e., state of mind requirement) for federal criminal offenses—statutory and regulatory—that lack an explicit standard.The government must generally prove that a defendant acted knowingly with respect to each element of an offense for which the text does not specify a state of mind.