To create a supreme court for the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.
District of Columbia Judicial Reorganization Act of 1990 - Title I: Supreme Court of the District of Columbia - Amends the District of Columbia Code to establish the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (Court) consisting of a chief justice and six associate justices with jurisdiction over appeals from final decisions of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals that meet specified criteria. Allows the Court, at its discretion, to certify a case for review before it has been determined by the D.C. Court of Appeals, but only under limited circumstances described in this Act. Allows the Court to: (1) answer questions of law certified to it by the U.S. Supreme Court, a Court of Appeals of the United States, or the highest court of any State if a question of D.C. law may be determinative of the case pending in the certifying court; and (2) order the certification of a question of law of another State to the highest court of such State. Provides for the temporary assignment of Court judges to and from other D.C. courts.
Directs the chief justice of the Court to annually summon the active judges of the D.C. courts to a Judicial Conference of the District of Columbia for the purpose of advising as to the means of improving the administration of justice within the District of Columbia.
Authorizes appropriations to the District of Columbia for FY 1991 through 1996 for the establishment of the Court.
Title II: Judges of the District of Columbia Courts - Makes the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, rather than the President, responsible for designating the chief justice or chief judge of a D.C. court.
Directs the Executive Officer of the District of Columbia Courts to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of establishing a District of Columbia Night Court as a division of the D.C. Superior Court.
Title III: Judicial Magistrates - Replaces the hearing commissioners of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia with judicial magistrates who shall be appointed by the chief judge of the Superior Court from among individuals recommended by the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission. Directs the Joint Committee on Judicial Administration to establish a training program for judicial magistrates. Authorizes a judicial magistrate, when authorized by the chief judge of the Superior Court, to make findings and enter final orders or judgments which shall constitute final orders of the Superior Court.
Sets forth provisions with respect to the filling of vacancies for judicial magistrate positions.
Requires the chief judge of the Superior Court to conduct a study of the utilization and effectiveness of judicial magistrates in the court system and to submit a report on the study conducted to the Congress and the Mayor of the District of Columbia.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on District of Columbia.
For Previous Action See H.R.3470.
Ordered to be Reported.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on District of Columbia. H. Rept. 101-806.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on District of Columbia. H. Rept. 101-806.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 504.
Mr. Dellums moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Mr. Parris demanded a second on the motion to suspend the rules.
Considered under suspension of the rules.
On ordering a second Agreed to without objection.
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DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Received in the Senate.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.