Citizen Justice Restoration Act of 2020

[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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