Judiciary
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today called upon the Senate Majority to hold a fair confirmation hearing and a timely up-or-down vote on President Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. Judge Garland serves as the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The recent resignation of U.S. Department of Justice Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff, just over a year after she was appointed, is alarming.
President Obama's appointment of Leff was a wise move that underscored his commitment to just and careful consideration of the thousands of petitions for clemency still pending.
Her departure, however, is an ominous sign that the office, with a staff of only 10 attorneys and nearly 10,000 petitions still awaiting review, will need significantly more resources to complete its work.
The recent resignation of U.S. Department of Justice Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff, just over a year after she was appointed, is alarming.
President Obama's appointment of Leff was a wise move that underscored his commitment to just and careful consideration of the thousands of petitions for clemency still pending.
Her departure, however, is an ominous sign that the office, with a staff of only 10 attorneys and nearly 10,000 petitions still awaiting review, will need significantly more resources to complete its work.
Dear Friend,
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today released the following statement on the House Judiciary Committee’s passage of H.R. 759, the Recidivism Risk Reduction Act, the bipartisan prison reform bill. Video of the Congressman’s remarks at the House Judiciary Committee meeting can be found here.
Dear Friend,
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today was selected by the House Judiciary Committee as Ranking Member of the committee’s Executive Overreach Task Force. The Executive Overreach Task Force will conduct hearings and investigations relating to separation of powers and executive overreach issues and will issue reports to the Committee detailing its findings and recommendations.
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) yesterday reintroduced the Fresh Start Act (H.R. 4410) to enable non-violent ex-federal offenders who have served their sentence and are now law-abiding, productive members of society to seek to have their conviction expunged from their records.