Message to the Congress
Transmitting Proposed Criminal Justice Reform Legislation
To
the Congress of the
I
am transmitting to the Congress today a legislative proposal entitled the ``Criminal
Justice Reform Act of 1987.''
As
you know, I have always believed that government's most fundamental
responsibility is the protection of the security of its people. In the area of
law enforcement, this critical priority has been reflected in the unprecedented
commitment of resources under my Administration to combatting
the scourge of drug trafficking and drug abuse, in our recent major advances
and ongoing effort against organized crime, and in important initiatives
against white collar crime.
Effective
enforcement, however, depends on the legislative will to provide the tools
needed to do the job. If the Congress had not enacted the RICO provisions of
the Organized Crime Control Act in 1970 and the court-ordered wiretap and
electronic surveillance provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act in 1968, we would lack essential tools in the war against organized
crime. If the Congress had not enacted the bail reform, forfeiture reform, and
drug enforcement provisions of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act in 1984, law
enforcement would be denied basic tools in our fight against drug trafficking.
The
legislative proposal that I am transmitting today encompasses three measures --
relating to the exclusionary rule, habeas corpus, and capital punishment --
which are also of critical importance to the suppression of crime and the
improved operation of the criminal justice system. These proposals are
summarized in some detail in the materials accompanying this message. I do,
however, wish to highlight the principal reforms proposed in this legislation:
Exclusionary Rule. Under the provisions of
the bill, reliable evidence of guilt would no longer be thrown out and
criminals set free because of innocent errors by law enforcement officers in
carrying out searches and seizures. Evidence would be admissible if an officer
acted in an objectively reasonable belief that his conduct was consistent with
the law.
Habeas Corpus. As a result of judicial
expansions of the habeas corpus remedy, State prisoners are now free to
re-litigate their convictions and sentences endlessly in the lower Federal
courts. The bill would curb the abuse of habeas corpus by imposing reasonable
limits on its scope and availability.
Capital Punishment. It is scandalous and
intolerable that Federal law now provides no enforceable death penalty for
terrorists who slaughter defenseless American hostages, for drug traffickers
who engage in cold-blooded murder of our law enforcement officers, for
prisoners already serving life terms who murder guards or other inmates, or for
traitors who jeopardize the security of millions by betraying our most
sensitive military secrets to the Nation's enemies. The bill would correct
these omissions and others by establishing an enforceable capital sanction for
aggravated crimes of murder, espionage, and treason.
The
need for reforms in these areas is familiar to all members of Congress.
Substantially similar titles relating to the exclusionary rule, habeas corpus,
and capital punishment were included in my initial proposal of the
Comprehensive Crime Control Act in 1983. At the time of the passage of the
Comprehensive Crime Control Act in 1984, all these proposals were passed as
separate bills by large majority votes in the Senate. Similar proposals have
been passed or introduced with broad support in the House of Representatives.
There
is little question in my mind that these measures would again be approved
without difficulty if the membership of both houses of Congress were permitted
to vote on them. Yet despite the passage of years, exhaustive hearings and
study at the committee level, extensive floor consideration and debate, and
vigorous efforts by numerous members of Congress in promoting these important
reforms, they have not yet been enacted. This inaction is almost entirely
attributable to determined delay and obstruction by those few who oppose the
public's justified demand for effective action against crime and seek to deny
the full membership of the Congress an opportunity to voice its will concerning
these proposals.
We
should not and cannot tolerate further delay on these important issues
affecting the fundamental right of all Americans to justice in the courts and
protection against crime. I accordingly urge prompt consideration and enactment
of these legislative proposals.
Ronald
Reagan
The
White House,