Law Abiding Citizens Safety Act of 1995

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: State Correctional Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Title II: Repeal of the Ban on Semi-Automatic Assault

Weapons and the Ban on Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding

Devices

Title III: Enhanced Gun Penalties

Title I: State Correctional Litigation Reform Act of 1995 - Law Abiding Citizens Safety Act of 1995 - Requires that any action challenging conditions of confinement in a correctional institution filed on behalf of other inmates or as a class action be brought by the Attorney General unless specified requirements are met. Specifies that any action brought by an inmate in an individual capacity shall have no collateral estoppel effect other than as between the parties to the action. Authorizes the Attorney General, upon declination of the initial intervention request by the inmate and if requested by a State, to intervene on behalf of institutional administrators.

Prohibits the court from awarding attorney's fees in any action challenging conditions of confinement unless the litigation results in the issuance of an injunction or the court awards attorney's fees as a sanction for filing a frivolous lawsuit, subject to specified conditions.

Prohibits a court, in any litigation challenging conditions of confinement, from granting any relief unless the conditions challenged constitute the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain due to the deliberate indifference of institutional administrators such that inmates are deprived of the minimum civilized measure of life's necessities. Specifies that: (1) if the institution makes a per inmate expenditure equal to or exceeding the poverty guideline level there is a presumption that such administrators are not deliberately indifferent which may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary; and (2) failure to make such expenditures does not give rise to a presumption that such conditions are unconstitutional.

Requires every pleading, motion, or other paper (pleading) of a party to be signed by at least one attorney of record or by the party if not represented by an attorney which certifies that the signer has carefully read the pleading and believes that it is: (1) well grounded in fact; (2) warranted by existing case law or there is a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law; and (3) not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation. Provides for sanctions against violators of this provision.

Provides that any civil action for deprivation of rights challenging the conditions of confinement of an institution shall be heard by a three judge district court. Bars any such court from issuing an injunction in such an action absent a showing of extraordinary circumstances or unless institutional administrators have failed to adhere to a written declaratory judgment finding that a condition of confinement is unconstitutional. Limits injunctive relief to the minimum necessary to remedy any unconstitutional condition of confinement.

Authorizes such a court, upon motion of a party at any time, to conduct a hearing on whether an order or decree entered as a result of any such action challenging the constitutionality of conditions of confinement should be modified due to: (1) changed factual circumstances; (2) a change or clarification of the relevant law; (3) a succession in office of an official responsible for having consented to a decree; (4) the government's financial constraints or any other matter affecting public safety or the public interest; and (5) any ground provided in rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (including mistake, inadvertence, excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, and fraud).

Directs the court to: (1) conduct such a hearing if the motion was filed more than one year after the date of the order or the decree or the date on which the last modification hearing was conducted, whichever is later; and (2) if it denies a motion to modify an order or consent decree, make a written finding that the relief provided in the order or decree, as of the decision date, is no greater than the minimum required to bring the conditions of confinement into substantial compliance with the Constitution.

(Sec. 104) Authorizes the Attorney General to institute certain civil actions regarding flagrant or egregious conditions of confinement only to the extent permitted by this Act. Specifies that nothing in this section shall prohibit the Attorney General from intervening on behalf of prison officials if requested by a State.

Prohibits the Attorney General from initiating or intervening on behalf of an inmate in an action alleging a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution unless the Attorney General finds reasonable cause to believe that such persons are subjected to conditions which constitute the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain due to the deliberate indifference of institutional administrators such that those persons are deprived of the minimum civilized measure of life's necessities.

(Sec. 105) Revises provisions regarding exhaustion of administrative remedies. Directs the court, in any action for deprivation of civil rights filed by an inmate, to require exhaustion of such remedies.

Provides that an action brought by an inmate alleging a violation of constitutional rights relating to the conditions of confinement may not be maintained unless the inmate has first: (1) exhausted any remedies available in the institution and the courts of the State, unless it appears that there is an absence of available State corrective process or that circumstances exist which render such process ineffective; and (2) petitioned the Attorney General to institute an action for, or to intervene on behalf of, the inmate and the Attorney General has not so intervened or has declined to intervene.

Requires that any such action state with particularity: (1) the exhaustion of remedies or reasons exhaustion has not been pursued; (2) any applicable decision of the Attorney General; (3) the specific constitutional right alleged to have been violated and all specific facts supporting the allegation; (4) the specific nature of the condition of confinement and the manner in which the institutional administrators have been deliberately indifferent to the wanton and unnecessary infliction of pain such that the inmate has been deprived of the minimum civilized standard of life's necessities; or (5) the relief requested.

Specifies that an inmate shall not be deemed to have exhausted the remedies available in the courts of the State if he has the right under State law to raise, by any available procedure, the question presented.

Provides that, in any proceeding instituted in a Federal court for relief alleging a violation of constitutional rights arising from conditions of confinement, a determination after a hearing on the merits of a factual issue made by a State court shall be presumed correct unless: (1) the inmate establishes, it otherwise appears, or the respondent admits that the merits of the factual dispute were not resolved, the fact finding procedure employed by the State court was not adequate, the material facts were not adequately developed, the State court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter or over the inmate, the inmate did not receive a full, fair, and adequate hearing, or the applicant was otherwise denied due process; or (2) the Federal court, on a consideration as a whole of that part of the record of the State court proceeding in which the determination of such factual issue was made pertinent to a determination of the sufficiency of the evidence, concludes that such factual determinations are not fairly supported by the record.

Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the burden of proof; (2) challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence; and (3) the admissibility of copies of official records of State courts in Federal court proceedings.

(Sec. 106) Repeals provisions regarding minimum standards for the resolution of grievances of confined adults, review and certification procedures, and the failure of a State to adopt or adhere to an administrative grievance procedure.

(Sec. 107) Delineates as conditions that shall not be deemed "cruel and unusual punishment" of prisoners: (1) the absence of or failure to provide access to cable TV or other entertainment or to recreational facilities such as basketball courts, gyms, or other areas; (2) the quality of food as long as the appropriate medical official certifies that it meets minimal nutritional standards to sustain life; (3) the number, training, or qualifications of prison officials; (4) the placement of more than one prisoner in a cell; (5) defects in the style, type, or condition of prison clothing; (6) the age or conditions of the prison structure, as long as it remains structurally sound; or (7) the absence of any other luxury or amenity.

Title II: Repeal of the Ban on Semiautomatic Assault Weapons and the Ban on Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Devices - Restoration of Certain Second Amendment Rights Act - Amends the Federal Criminal Code (and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994) to repeal the ban on semiautomatic assault weapons and the ban on large capacity ammunition feeding devices.

Title III: Enhanced Gun Penalties - Revises provisions of the Federal criminal code with respect to using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime to provide enhanced penalties for persons convicted of using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a felony.

(Sec. 302) Sets a mandatory minimum term of five years' imprisonment for knowing possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, fugitive from justice, addict or unlawful user of a controlled substance, or a transferor or receiver of a stolen firearm.

(Sec. 303) Increases the general penalty for violation of Federal firearms laws.