Judiciary Hearing On National Criminal Justice Commission Act

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on the
National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009

On Thursday, June 11th at 3:00pm, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs will hold a hearing on Senator Jim Webb's legislation to comprehensively review and recommend reform to the nation's criminal justice system. The hearing entitled "Exploring the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009," will take place at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226.

On March 26th, Senator Webb introduced S.714 to create a blue-ribbon commission charged with conducting an 18-month, top-to-bottom review of the nation's entire criminal justice system and offering concrete recommendations for reform. The legislation has received bipartisan support and has 29 cosponsors in the Senate, including Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), Ranking Member Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Judiciary Committee member Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

A statement from The Sentencing Project endorsing the legislation is available here.

The hearing will be webcast at the Senate Judiciary Committee website. To watch live, please click here.

Witness List

Pat Nolan
Vice President, Prison Fellowship

Chief William Bratton
Los Angeles Police Department

Professor Charles J. Ogletree
Harvard Law School

Brian W. Walsh
Senior Legal Research Fellow, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation