NCJ Number
93367
Date Published
1984
Length
35 pages
Annotation
A Department of Justice (DOJ) official and the District Attorney of Wayne County, Mich., testified in support of S.52, the Armed Career Criminal Act of l983, which invokes Federal jurisdiction when someone has been convicted of two or more robberies or burglaries and then commits a subsequent robbery or burglary while in possession of a firearm.
Abstract
The committee chairman noted that efforts have been made to revise the bill, originally vetoed as part of a crime package, so that its provisions do not intrude into matters reserved to States under the Constitution. The Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, stated the DOJ's basic support of the bill, emphasizing that it would be of particular help to States with serious court congestion, prison overcrowding, and inadequate sentencing statutes. He suggested adding a section expressing the intent of Congress that no Federal prosecution should be brought unless the State or local prosecutor concurs or requests Federal prosecution. Committee members questioned the witness on the language of this provision, expressing concern that the law might be unconstitutional without it. The District Attorney from Wayne County also supported the bill, commenting that his jurisdiction would be happy to turn over cases to Federal prosecutors and that Michigan's habitual criminal statute was weak because it has no mandatory minimum sentence as does S. 52. He also discussed the impact of such a Federal law on State courts' sentencing practices. The document supplies witnesses' prepared statements and the text of S. 52, showing revisions in the original bill.