text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Grand Jury Reform Act of 2017''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress finds the following:
              (1) Grand juries are typically used as the process by which 
          allegations of police misconduct are prosecuted.
              (2) There exists a symbiotic relationship between local 
          prosecutors and the law enforcement officers who regularly 
          testify in routine grand jury investigations.
              (3) The closeness of this relationship creates public 
          suspicion that accused police officers receive preferential 
          consideration from grand juries when they are subject to grand 
          jury investigations.
              (4) Police officers have the right to appear before the 
          grand jury investigating allegations of wrongdoing by said 
          officer, and give testimony not subject to a thorough cross 
          examination.
              (5) Grand jury proceedings are by law secret proceedings.
              (6) The secret grand jury process has historically resulted 
          in a refusal to indict when the subject of their investigation 
          is a local law enforcement officer.
              (7) The recent grand jury proceedings following the deaths 
          of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have followed historical 
          tradition, ending with a refusal to indict the law enforcement 
          officers involved in their deaths.
              (8) The American people have lost confidence in the 
          secretive grand jury process when it is used to evaluate 
          allegations of police misconduct.
              (9) The loss of confidence in our system of justice leads 
          to the undermining of the principles of equality and justice 
          upon which this country was founded.
              (10) Preliminary hearings are often replaced with direct 
          presentments, whereby the prosecutor may send a case directly 
          to the grand jury without a public preliminary hearing.
  
  SEC. 3. HEARING BEFORE A JUDGE REQUIRED.
  
      (a) Receipt of Grant Funds.--In order for a State or unit of local 
  government in a State to be eligible to receive Federal funding under 
  subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
  Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), the State shall comply 
  with the requirements of this section.
      (b) Notification Requirements.--
              (1) Notification to prosecutor.--In the case of a law 
          enforcement officer of a local law enforcement agency who uses 
          deadly force against a person in the course of the officer's 
          employment, and thereby causes the death of that person, not 
          later than 24 hours after the death occurs, the chief officer 
          of the law enforcement agency of the locality in which the 
          death occurred shall report the death to the elected prosecutor 
          of that locality.
              (2) Notification to governor.--Not later than 24 hours 
          after receiving notice under paragraph (1), the elected 
          prosecutor of the locality in which the death occurred shall 
          report the death to the Governor of that State.
      (c) Hearing Requirement; Appointment of Special Prosecutor.--
              (1) In general.--Not later than 3 days after receiving 
          notice under subsection (b)(2), the Governor of the State in 
          which the death occurred shall appoint a special prosecutor to 
          present evidence on behalf of the State at a hearing before a 
          judge in the appropriate court, in order to determine whether 
          probable cause exists for the State to bring criminal charges 
          against the law enforcement officer relating to the death of 
          the person, which determination shall be made by the judge. The 
          Governor shall use a random process to select the special 
          prosecutor from among all of the elected prosecutors in the 
          State, excluding the elected prosecutor of the locality in 
          which the death occurred.
              (2) Timing.--The hearing described in paragraph (1) shall 
          be held not later than 90 days after the appointment of the 
          special prosecutor, unless the judge determines that good cause 
          exists to delay the hearing.
              (3) Court to remain open to the public.--Except as 
          determined appropriate by the presiding judge, in a hearing 
          described in paragraph (1), the court shall remain open to the 
          public, and upon scheduling the hearing the judge shall provide 
          notice to the public of the date, time, and location of the 
          hearing.
      (d) State Law Enforcement Agency To Have Exclusive Authority Over 
  Investigation.--
              (1) In general.--Not later than 24 hours after receiving 
          notice under subsection (b)(2), the Governor shall report the 
          death to the chief officer of the State law enforcement agency 
          of the State in which the death occurred, and the State law 
          enforcement agency shall assume exclusive control of the 
          investigation of the death during the pendency of the probable 
          cause hearing.
              (2) Cooperation of local law enforcement agency.--The chief 
          officer of the law enforcement agency of the locality in which 
          the death occurred shall cooperate with the special prosecutor 
          and the chief officer of the State law enforcement agency by 
          responding promptly to requests for information related to the 
          death.
      (e) Written Determination of Probable Cause.--Not later than 5 days 
  after the conclusion of a hearing described in subsection (c), the 
  judge presiding over the hearing shall issue the determination 
  described in subsection (c) in writing, and shall submit such 
  determination to the elected prosecutor of the locality in which the 
  death occurred. Such determination shall be made available to the 
  public.
      (f) Recommendations of the Special Prosecutor.--Upon the conclusion 
  of a hearing described in subsection (c), the special prosecutor shall 
  submit written recommendations to the elected prosecutor of the 
  locality in which the death occurred, including a recommendation 
  regarding whether criminal charges should be brought against the law 
  enforcement officer relating to the death of the person.
      (g) Tolling of Procedural Deadlines.--Any applicable filing or 
  other procedural deadlines are tolled during the pendency of the 
  hearing described in subsection (c).
      (h) Preservation of Prosecutorial Discretion.--The hearing 
  described in subsection (c) shall be purely advisory, and shall have no 
  binding effect on the elected prosecutor of the locality in which the 
  death occurred. After the conclusion of the hearing described in 
  subsection (c), the elected prosecutor of the locality in which the 
  death occurred shall retain prosecutorial discretion as to whether to 
  bring charges against the law enforcement officer, including whether to 
  hold a grand jury proceeding in the appropriate court.
target: Grand Jury Reform Act of 2017 This bill conditions a state or local government's receipt of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program on the state's compliance with certain requirements following an incident involving the use of deadly force by a local law enforcement officer that results in a person's death.  Specifically, the governor must appoint a special prosecutor to present evidence before a judge to determine whether probable cause exists to criminally charge the law enforcement officer. The hearing must be open to the public. 
feat_title: Grand Jury Reform Act of 2017