To enforce the Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of effective counsel at all stages of the adversarial process, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide declaratory and injunctive relief against systemic violations of such right, and for other purposes.

United States115th CongressHR-968House of Representatives
Updated: Mar 9, 2017

Summary

Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2017 This bill states that an indigent individual facing criminal prosecution or juvenile delinquency in a state court is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel, as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, at the state's expense. The bill authorizes a federal class action lawsuit against a state for its systemic failure to guarantee the right to effective assistance of counsel. The assistance of counsel is ineffective when a class of individuals demonstrates that counsel's performance was not reasonable under prevailing professional norms.

Bill texts

Available versions
Introduced (House)View official text

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Timeline

  1. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

    House of Representatives

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

    House of Representatives

  4. Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

    House of Representatives

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