This week, two congressmen from Florida reached across party lines to team up on a bill to create the National Criminal Justice Commission to offer Congress recommendations on improving public safety.
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., introduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2015. Fifty years ago President Lyndon Johnson urged the creation of a National Criminal Justice Commission to offer strategies to Congress on law enforcement and the two Florida congressmen are pursuing a similar path in the new bill.
Under the bill, the president and Congress would appoint 14 members to craft a strategy over a year and a half to reform the federal, state and local criminal justice systems. The measure has won the support of police groups including the Fraternal Orders of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police and has the support of the NAACP.
We need to take a careful look at our criminal justice system and determine what is working, and what is not, to make our country safer, support our law enforcement community, and ensure our laws are fair and just, said Rooney.
I am particularly concerned about the recent explosion in the size and scope of the federal criminal code, Rooney added. Many of the new offenses of the last few decades are overly broad, have inadequate criminal-intent requirements, or were created by pens of bureaucrats rather than acts of Congress. Others are blatant examples of federal overreach on crimes that should be left to the states. A commission can highlight these disturbing trends, and force Congress to begin the process of reducing overcriminalization, protecting Americans from unjust punishment, and making our criminal code more streamlined and cost-effective.
Recent events across our country have made evident what civil rights leaders, law enforcement groups, and legal advocates have been saying for years: a comprehensive review of Americas criminal justice system is long overdue, Deutch insisted. If we as Americans are serious about tackling issues like mass incarceration, building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and promoting a justice system guided by basic fairness and equality under the law, then its time the House and Senate worked together to establish a new National Criminal Justice Commission. A bipartisan, comprehensive examination of the many challenges we face is the first step toward reforming our laws and creating a more sustainable and more accountable criminal justice system.
At the other end of Capitol Hill, the Senate version was launched by U.S. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Gary Peters, D-Mich.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
